Solving for x in a Cubic Equation

[Ivonne Pineda 3L]

When doing the ICE box and when we plug in the equations to solve for Kc, Dr. Lavelle stated that we can approximate that when subtracting x from the initial value of a molecule will make difference (e.g. 0.0482-x). Does that mean we are to always ignore the x when dealing with these kinds of problems?

[Sydni Bednarek 3I]

Hi! We are able to approximate when k < 10^-3, indicating that we have a large surplus of reactants that won't be affected by x. We aren't able to always "ignore" the x, we can just disregard it when k < 10^-3.