Meaning of Equilibrium Constant Values
The meaning of \(\text{K}_{\text{c}}\) values
The formula for \(\text{K}_{\text{c}}\) has:
-
the concentration of the products in the numerator and the concentration of reactants in the denominator
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a \(\text{K}_{\text{c}}\) value \(\color{red}{\textbf{greater than 1}}\) means that the equilibrium lies to the right
\(\color{red}{\textbf{there are more products than reactants}}\)
-
a \(\text{K}_{\text{c}}\) value \(\color{blue}{\textbf{between 0 and 1}}\) means that the equilibrium lies to the left
\(\color{blue}{\textbf{more reactants than products}}\)
This has been summarised in the table below. Note that \(\text{K}_{\text{c}}\) cannot be 0 or less.
Yield describes the quantity of product in the container relative to the maximum product possible.
|
\(\text{K}_{\text{c}}\) value |
Equilibrium |
Yield |
|
\(\color{red}{\text{K}_{\text{c}} > 1}\) |
\(\color{red}{\text{to the right}}\) |
\(\color{red}{\textbf{more products}}\) than reactants |
|
\(\color{blue}{0 <\text{K}_{\text{c}}< 1}\) |
\(\color{blue}{\text{to the left}}\) |
\(\color{blue}{\textbf{more reactants}}\) than products |
Table: The meaning of \(\text{K}_{\text{c}}\) values.
A high \(\text{K}_{\text{c}}\) value means that:
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the concentration of products is high
-
the equilibrium lies far to the right
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the reaction has a high yield
A low \(\text{K}_{\text{c}}\) value (close to 0) means that:
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the concentration of reactants is high
-
the equilibrium lies far to the left
-
the reaction has a low yield
This lesson is part of:
Chemical Equilibrium