Question

Consider the general form of a reversible reaction to be: where the double arrow means the reaction can proceed in both the forward and reverse direction. If the equilibrium constant for the forward reaction is defined as: -, what is the equilibrium constant for the reverse reaction? a) It is exactly the same. Namely b) It is just the products of the reactants. Namely, c) It is equal to the reciprocal of the forward equilibrium constant. That is d) The reverse equilibrium constant cannot be determined. a) bi Od) cl

Answer 1

Answer: Option (c) is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

A reversible reaction is defined as the reaction in which rate of forward reaction is equal to the rate of backward reaction.

In general, an equilibrium or reversible reaction will be as follows.

`A + B \rightleftharpoons C + D`

As equilibrium constant is the ratio of concentration of product over reactants.

Hence, equilibrium constant in forward direction for this reaction will be as follows.

`K_(f) = ([C][D])/([A][B])` .......... (1)

On the other hand, equilibrium constant of backward reaction is as follows.

`K_(b) = (1)/(K_(f))`

=
`([A][B])/([C][D])` ............ (2)

This means that equilibrium constant of backward reaction is reciprocal of equilibrium constant of forward reaction.

Thus, we can conclude that the equilibrium constant for the reverse reaction is equal to the reciprocal of the forward equilibrium constant.