Experiment No.

9
Chemical Equilibrium

Group 3:
Athena Paula Balbin
Crystle Cotingting
Objectives:
To evaluate and explain the effect of change
in concentration and temperature on the
equilibrium
To interpret the result based on the Le
Chatelier’s principle
Chemical Equilibrium
Chemical Equilibrium is a state of dynamic
balance in which the rate of formation of the
products of a reaction from the reactants
equals the rate of formation of the reactants
from the products. The concentrations of the
reactants and products remain constant.
A+B↔C
Le Chatelier’s Principle
“If a system at equilibrium is
disturbed by a change in
temperature, pressure, or
the concentration of one of
the components, the
system will shifts its
equilibrium position so as
to counteract the effect of Henry Louis Le Chatelier

the disturbance.”
Three (3) Factors that can disturb a chemical
equilibrium:
1. Change in reactant or product concentrations
2. Change in the pressure
3. Change in temperature
The concept of Le Chatelier’s principle is
important in determing direction of reaction.
The concept of chemical equilibrium is used by
many manufacturers and factories and so we
recommend further and deeper studies regarding
this subject matter in order to increase the
efficiency of substances.
Methodology
Test tube 1 10 drops distlled water
reference

Test tube 2 10 drops Fe(NO3)3

Test tube 3 10 drops KCNS

10 drops of
20 drops Fe(NO3)3 + Resulting color
Test tube 4 10 drops KCl
20 drops KCNS + of mixture?
10 mL distilled water
Test tube 5 10 drops AgNO3
Color of mixture?
Test tube 6 10 drops NaF

Test tube 7 Heat over fire

Test tube 8 Ice bath

Results:
reactant/treatment observations Direction of
reaction
Distilled water
0.1 M Fe(NO3)3 Darker forward
0.1 M KCNS darker forward
0.1 M KCl Lighter backward
0.1 M AgNO3 Milky white backward
NaF crystals Milky white backward
Increase in temp. Lighter Backward
Decrease in temp. Darker Forward
20 drops Fe(NO3)3 +
20 drops KCNS +
10 mL distilled water
10 drops Fe(NO3)3 10 drops KCNS 10 drops KCl 10 drops AgNO3 10 drops NaF
Ice bath Heat over fire Reference
Discussion:
An equilibrium is achieved when 20 drops of 1M
Fe(NO3)3, 20 drops of 1M KCNS and water
were mixed. The reaction is:
Fe3+ + CNS- ↔ FeCNS2+
orange colorless blood-red
Change in the concentration of
reactant/product
“If a chemical system is at equilibrium and we
add a substance (either reactant/product), the
reaction will shift so as to reestablish
equilibrium by consuming part of the added
substance. Conversely, removing a substance
will cause the reaction to move in the direction
that forms more of that substance.”
Test tube 2 and 3
- basically an increase in concentration of the reactant
- to reduce amount of reactant (and reattain
equilibrium), shift towards formation of more product
(forward direction)
- a forward reaction resulted in creation of more
FeSCN2+ making solution darker
Test tube 4
- KCl dissociates into K+ and Cl- ions
- K+ ions also form a complex with CNS-
(Fe(CNS)3 + 3KCl  FeCl3 + 3KCNS )
- Decrease in amount of reactant CNS-
- To increase amount of reactant (to reattain equilibrium),
the product FeSCN2+ is broken down (reverse shift)
- Breakdown of product turns solution lighter
- Light brown color can also be attributed to FeCl3
molecules
Test tube 5
-Addition of AgNO3 caused a precipitation of
insoluble compound AgCNS
Fe(CNS)3 + AgNO3 ↔ AgSCN + Fe(NO3)3
-Decrease in the amount of CNS- ions, because
also was being used to form AgCNS
-To increase amount of reactant (to reattain
equilibrium), the product FeSCN2+ is broken down
(reverse shift)
-Breakdown of product turns solution lighter
-Although Fe(NO3)3, a reactant, was also
produced, the effect of the shift towards the
breakdown of the FeCNS2+ is more dominant
because the AgCNS formed is solid and
insoluble.
Effect of temperature changes
• Equilibrium constant changes with changes in
temperature.
• Treat heat, ∆H, as if it were a chemical reagent
•Endothermic: Reactants + ∆H ↔ product
•Exothermic: Reactants ↔ product + ∆H
“When the temperature is increased, it is as if we have
added a reactant, or a product, to the system of
equilibrium. The equilibrium shifts in the direction
that consumes the excess reactant (or product), namely
heat.”
Endothermic:
•Like adding more reactants
•Reduce amount of reactant and reattain equilibrium by
shifting towards formation of more products
•Increase in temperature causes the shift to the right
Exothermic:
•Like adding more products
•Reduce amount of the product and reattain equilibrium
by shifting towards formation of more reactant
•Increase in temperature results in shift is to the left
•Heating test tube 7 resulted in a solution of a
lighter color, indicating a shift towards the
production of reactants.
• Placing test tube 8 in an ice bath produced a
darker color of solution, indicating a shift
towards production of products.
•Hence, it is an exothermic reaction
Conclusions and Recommendations
- Le Chatelier’s principle has been demonstrated in
this experiment.
-An increase in the concentration of the reactant or
a decrease in the concentration of the product
shifts the direction of the reaction towards the
production of more products to return to the
equilibrium position.
-The opposite, a decrease in the concentration of
the reactants or an increase in the concentration of
the product shifts the equilibrium position towards
the production of more reactants.
-If temperature is treated as a reactant, in an
exothermic reaction, an increase in temperature
shifts the direction towards the production of
more reactants.
-A decrease in temperature in an exothermic
reaction causes a shift towards the production
of products, in order to reestablish equilibrium.
Guide Questions and Answers:
1.Explain your observations on the basis of Le
Chatelier’s Principle.
According to Le Chatelier’s Principle if a
system is at equilibrium and we add a
substance, the reaction will shift so as to
reestablish equilibrium by consuming part
of the added substance.
If reactants are added or products are removed, the system
will reestablish equilibrium by moving in the forward
direction and converting the reactants into products. Such
is the case in test tubes 2, 3, and 8 (if you treat heat as a
reactant). On the other hand, if the concentration of the
reactants is decreased, shifting the reaction backwards and
decomposing the products into reactants reestablishes
equilibrium. Such as demonstrated by test tubes four, five
and six and seven (if you treat heat as a reactant).
2.Which species (ions) in the added reagents
are effective in altering the state of the
system?
Fe3+ and CNS- are effective.
3. Is the reaction endothermic or exothermic?
Why?
The reaction is exothermic, because the
reaction shifts backward (a lighter
solution was obtained) with an increase
in temperature, indicating that the
reaction is heat absorbing.