The equilibrium expression for this reaction is:
Keq = [CH3OH]/([CO][H2]^2)
Rearranging this equation, we get:
[CO] = [CH3OH]/(Keq[H2]^2)
Substituting the given values, we get:
[CO] = (1.32 mol/L)/(10.5 mol/L^2 * (0.933 mol/L)^2)
[CO] = 0.0165 mol/L
Therefore, the concentration of CO in the equilibrium mixture is 0.0165 mol/L.
Why is the 10.5 squared?
1 answer
The 10.5 is squared because the equilibrium expression for the reaction includes the concentration of H2 raised to the power of 2. This means that the concentration of H2 is multiplied by itself in the denominator. In order to rearrange the equation to solve for the concentration of CO, we need to isolate [CO] on one side of the equation. To do this, we need to move all the other variables to the other side of the equation. This includes (Keq [H2]^2), which becomes the denominator of the new equation. When we substitute the given values into this new equation, we need to square the concentration of H2 because it is raised to the power of 2 in the equilibrium expression.