at equilibrium, are the concentrations of the reactants and products the same?
Solution.
At chemical equilibrium the concentrations of the reactants and products are NOT the same.
At chemical equilibrium the reaction rates of a direct and reverce reaction are the same.
For example, in reaction 2H2+O2=2H2O
the rate of a direct reaction is
ratedirect = kdirect[H2]2 [O2];
ratereverce = kreverce[H2O]2 ;
At chemical equilibrium ratedirect = ratereverce
kdirect[H2]2 [O2] = kreverce[H2O]2 ;
kdirect/kreverce = [H2O]2/([H2]2 [O2]) = Keq (equilibrium constant)
It means that the concentrations of the products and the reactants at chemical equilibrium remains unchanged.
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