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The equilibrium constant of a chemical reaction is the value of its reaction quotient at chemical equilibrium, a state approached by a dynamic chemical system after sufficient time has elapsed at which its composition has no measurable tendency towards further change.
Most commonly [OH −] is replaced by K w [H +] −1 in equilibrium constant expressions which would otherwise include hydroxide ion. Solids also do not appear in the equilibrium constant expression, if they are considered to be pure and thus their activities taken to be one. An example is the Boudouard reaction: [14] 2 CO ⇌ CO 2 + C
The expression of the rate equations was rediscovered independently by Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff. The law is a statement about equilibrium and gives an expression for the equilibrium constant, a quantity characterizing chemical equilibrium. In modern chemistry this is derived using equilibrium thermodynamics.
Equilibrium chemistry is concerned with systems in chemical equilibrium. The unifying principle is that the free energy of a system at equilibrium is the minimum possible, so that the slope of the free energy with respect to the reaction coordinate is zero.
The Van 't Hoff equation relates the change in the equilibrium constant, K eq, of a chemical reaction to the change in temperature, T, given the standard enthalpy change, Δ r H ⊖, for the process. The subscript r {\displaystyle r} means "reaction" and the superscript ⊖ {\displaystyle \ominus } means "standard".
Equilibrium is attained when the sum of chemical potentials of the species on the left-hand side of the equilibrium expression is equal to the sum of chemical potentials of the species on the right-hand side. At the same time, the rates of forward and backward reactions are equal to each other.
In 1884, Jacobus van 't Hoff proposed the Van 't Hoff equation describing the temperature dependence of the equilibrium constant for a reversible reaction: = where ΔU is the change in internal energy, K is the equilibrium constant of the reaction, R is the universal gas constant, and T is thermodynamic temperature.
The equilibrium expression above is a function of the concentrations [A], [B] etc. of the chemical species in equilibrium. The equilibrium constant value can be determined if any one of these concentrations can be measured.