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The system below was at equilibrium in a 6.0 L container. What change will occur for the system when the container is expanded to 24.25 L?

[tex]2 NO_2(g) \rightleftharpoons N_2O_4(g)[/tex]

A. The reaction shifts to the left (reactants) to produce more moles of gas.
B. The reaction shifts to the right (products) to produce fewer moles of gas.
C. There is no change because there are the same number of moles of gas on both sides.



Answer :

GinnyAnswer
To determine how the system will shift when the container is expanded, we need to analyze the given chemical equilibrium:

[tex]\[ 2 \text{NO}_2(g) \rightleftharpoons \text{N}_2\text{O}_4(g) \][/tex]

Step-by-step:

1. Count the Moles of Gas on Each Side:
- On the left side: [tex]\(2 \text{NO}_2(g)\)[/tex]. This means there are 2 moles of NO₂ gas.
- On the right side: [tex]\( \text{N}_2\text{O}_4(g)\)[/tex]. This means there is 1 mole of N₂O₄ gas.

Therefore, the left side has 2 moles of gas, while the right side has 1 mole of gas.

2. Effect of Volume Change on Equilibrium:
- According to Le Chatelier's Principle, when the volume of the container is increased, the system will try to counteract this change by shifting the equilibrium towards the side with more moles of gas.

3. Analyze the Volume Change:
- The initial volume of the container is 6.0 L.
- The final volume of the container is 24.25 L.
- The volume has been increased substantially.

4. Determine the Direction of the Shift:
- Since increasing the volume favors the side with more moles of gas, the reaction will shift to the left (the reactants side), where there are 2 moles of NO₂ gas compared to the 1 mole of N₂O₄ gas on the right side.

Based on the above analysis, the equilibrium will shift to the left (reactants) to produce more moles of gas when the container is expanded.

So, the reaction will shift to the left.