Final answer:
The larger the value of the equilibrium constant (K), the greater the amount of matter on the right side, indicating product formation is favored at equilibrium. A large K value means a larger product concentration, while a small K indicates a higher concentration of reactants.
Step-by-step explanation:
When analyzing chemical equilibria, the value of the equilibrium constant (K) provides significant insight into the composition of the mixture at equilibrium. The correct answer to the student's question is option b: The larger the value of K, the greater the amount of matter on the right. This is because a high value of K indicates that a chemical reaction favors the formation of products, resulting in a greater amount of substances on the product side (right side) of the chemical equation when equilibrium is reached. Conversely, a small K value means the equilibrium mixture is rich in reactants.
For instance, with a large K value, reactions with K > 10³ tend to proceed nearly to completion with negligible amounts of reactants left. On the other hand, reactions with K < 10⁻³ contain predominantly reactants because the products are formed in very small quantities. Therefore, the magnitude of the equilibrium constant (K) is indicative of the direction in which the reaction mixture tends to lie at equilibrium, with larger K values favoring products and smaller K values favoring reactants.