Some PCl₅ is placed in a 10.0-L reaction cylinder. The temperature is increased to 500 K, and the following reaction reaches equilibrium.

In which direction does the system react if the external pressure increases, causing the volume to decrease to 1.0 L whereas the temperature is kept constant at 500 K?

Strategy

Two ways exist to determine the direction of the reaction. The first was is to calculate Q and compare K_eq, but we will use Le Chatelier’s principle instead: The system will respond to minimize the effect of the change. The effect of the change will be evaluated by looking at how changing the volume changes the concentrations.

Transcribed Image Text:

PC15(g) PC13(g) + Cl(g)