equilibrium shifts: left of right?

[Joanna Huang]

If the question gives you the initial concentration of the products and reactants, then they add more moles to the reactants and let it go to equilibrium, which way does it shift and why?

[Aydin Karatas 1F]

Le Chatelier's principle would tell us that the reaction would shift to the right because it wants to return to equilibrium. If there is an increase in the concentration of reactants, more product must be formed to maintain the same K value at that temperature.

[Elena Chen 2E]

The reaction will shift to the right towards the products because it has fallen out of equilibrium and will form more product until the original product to reactant ratio is reached again.

[Amanda Bueno-Kling]

If the question gives you the initial concentration of the products and reactants, then they add more moles to the reactants and let it go to equilibrium, which way does it shift and why?

It helps me to imagine the reaction like one of those old fashioned scales. When you put more on one side, the other side goes up.
When you put more on the products side, the reaction will go towards reactants (shift left). When you put more on the reactants side, the reaction will go to products (shift right). This occurs because in order to counterbalance the large influx on one side of the reaction and restore equilibrium, the reaction mush shift the opposite way to rebalance the scale by putting more on the other side.
One side gets too heavy, so the reaction puts some on the other side in order for it to be balanced again.

[IreneGi2I]

Even after adding more of reactants or products, the equilibrium constant will not change.

Therefore, to balance between reactant and product and reach to the same equilibrium constant, if more reactant is added, the reaction will shift to the right. In this way, more products will form and the same equilibrium constant will be reached. Hope this helps!

[Sami Siddiqui 1J]

If you add more reactants, the reaction will favor the products and vice versa in order to satisfy Le Chatelier's Principle. As a rule of thumb, if you add more of a compound on one side of a reaction, then the reaction will want to remove that sudden stress by using that compound in reaction.

[Nina Ellefsen 2D]

It would shift further to the right (favoring products) in order to return to the fixed P/R ratio.

[Grace_Remphrey_2J]

In order to maintain equilibrium between the products and reactants, if there is an addition to one side of the reaction, the equation will shift to the opposing side in order to maintain equilibrium.

[Teti Omilana 1G]

It would shift towards the products (right) in order to maintain equilibrium. It always shifts in the opposite direction that moles were added.

[David Liu 1E]

it would shift right because according to the equilibrium there would now be too much reactant and it shifts to the products in order to achieve equilibrium again

[Yeonjoo Kim 2B]

It would shift towards the products (right) in order to match the amount of reactants and reach equilibrium

[jia207]

The shift would be more to the right because the reaction wants return to the fixed P/R ration.

[Brian Bui 3H]

La Chatelier's principle states that "chemical reactions adjust so as to minimize the effect of any changes" according to what was stated in lecture.

The way I think of it is kind of like a seesaw. If you start with the two sides that have equal weights (representing equilibrium), and you add something to one side, it will make the two sides unbalanced. Therefore, according to the principle, the reaction will "want to" add weight to the other side to make the two sides equal again, returning to equilibrium. Hope this analogy helps!

[Gabriel Nitro 1E]

Hi,

Assuming the initial concentrations of reactants and products are equilibrium concentrations, then the reaction should proceed to the right.

Hope this helps! :)