Final answer:
The Law of Mass Action describes how the concentrations of reactants and products at equilibrium are related through the equilibrium constant. It applies to homogeneous equilibria and reflects the law of conservation of mass, but does not account for factors like temperature, catalysts, or pressure changes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Law of Mass Action states that for a balanced chemical equation at equilibrium, the ratio of the product of the concentrations of the products raised to the power of their stoichiometric coefficients to the product of the concentrations of the reactants raised to the power of their stoichiometric coefficients is a constant, known as the equilibrium constant (Keq). This can be represented for a general reaction aA + bB → cC + dD as: Keq = [C]c [D]d / [A]a [B]b. An important aspect of this law is that it applies to reactants and products in the same phase, often referred to as a homogeneous equilibrium, whereas systems with a heterogeneous equilibrium involve substances in more than one phase. Moreover, the law also implies the law of conservation of mass, which states that the total mass in a chemical reaction is conserved. However, the Law of Mass Action does not account for the effects of temperature, presence of catalysts, or changes in pressure on the reaction's equilibrium.