Question

In a chemical reaction, 4 mol of nitrogen monoxide and 2.5 mol of oxygen are mixed together in a container with volume of 1000 ml to produce nitrogen dioxide.If kc for this reaction is 0.001.Determine the equilibrium concentrations for each substance.

Answer 1

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction is:

2 NO(g) + O2(g) -> 2 NO2(g)

Initially, there are 4 mol of NO and 2.5 mol of O2 in a 1000 ml container, which is also the volume of the container.

Let x be the change in concentration of NO and O2, and 2x be the change in concentration of NO2. Therefore, at equilibrium:

[NO] = 4 - 2x
[O2] = 2.5 - x
[NO2] = 2x

We can find the equilibrium constant expression by plugging in the equilibrium concentrations into the balanced equation:

Kc = ([NO2]^2) / ([NO]^2[O2])

0.001 = (2x)^2 / ((4 - 2x)^2(2.5 - x))

Solving this equation will give us the equilibrium concentrations of NO, O2, and NO2.