Question

Would decreasing the volume of the container for each of the following reactions cause the equilibrium to shift in the direction of the products, the reactants, or not change?

3O₂ (g) ⇄ 2O₃(g)

A. Shift in the direction of the products
B. Shift in the direction of the reactants
C. Equilibrium does not change

Answer 1

Decreasing the volume of the container for the reaction 3O₂ (g) ⇌ 2O₃(g) will cause the equilibrium to shift towards the products(Option A).

Step-by-step explanation:

When considering how a change in volume affects an equilibrium system, according to Le Chatelier's principle, the system will adjust to counteract the change. For the reaction 3O₂ (g) ⇌ 2O₃(g), decreasing the volume of the container will increase the pressure.

Because there are more moles of gas on the reactant side (3 moles of O₂) compared to the product side (2 moles of O₃), the equilibrium will shift towards the side with fewer moles of gas to reduce the increased pressure. Therefore, the equilibrium will shift in the direction of the products.