Question

The acid HOCl (hypochlorous acid) is produced by bubbling chlorine gas through a suspension of solid mercury(II) oxide particles in liquid water according to the equation 2HgO(s)+H2O(l)+2Cl2(g)⇌2HOCl(aq)+HgO⋅HgCl2(s) What is the equilibrium-constant expression for this reaction?

Answer 1

Answer: The expression for equilibrium constant is
`K_(eq)=([HOCl]^2)/([H_2O][Cl_2]^2)`

Step-by-step explanation:

Equilibrium constant is defined as the ratio of concentration of products to the concentration of reactants each raised to the power their stoichiometric ratios. It is expressed as
`K_(eq)`

For the general chemical equation:

`aA+bB\rightleftharpoons cC+dD`

The expression for
`K_c` is given as:

`K_c=([C]^c[D]^d)/([A]^a[B]^b)`

For the given chemical reaction:

`2HgO(s)+H_2O(l)+2Cl_2(g)\rightleftharpoons 2HOCl(aq.)+HgO.HgCl_2(s)`

The expression for
`K_(eq)` is given as:

`K_(eq)=([HOCl]^2[HgO.HgCl_2])/([HgO]^2[H_2O][Cl_2]^2)`

The concentration of solid is taken to be 0.

So, the expression for
`K_(eq)` is given as:

`K_(eq)=([HOCl]^2)/([H_2O][Cl_2]^2)`