Q vs K

[Kai Johnson 3B]

Why is it when Q<K equilibrium shifts to the right and vice versa?

[Jaclynshoudis15]

I think because there's more reactants than products thus [P]/[R] will have a bigger denominator and Q will be a smaller number. Thus the equation shifts to make more products to balance the excess of reactants. Hope this helps!

[Jasmin 2C]

It shifts to the right because more reactants are being made that products, so it shifts right to reach equilibrium.

[005917072]

Another way of looking at this, that actually helped me understand it better, is considering the reactant and product concentrations in comparison to their equilibrium concentrations (opposed to comparing the reactant concentration to the product concentration). So, when Q < K, you know that there are less products at that point in the reaction than there are at equilibrium (since K’s numerator is larger than Q’s). This means more products need to be made, so the forward reaction is favored and the reaction is shifting right.

[Miyown Meeks 2F]

Hi, I think it is easier to think of this numerically, as when Q is less than K, this means that there is more reactants than products meaning that there is a bigger denominator, this will make the answer for Q smaller than the answer for K where the system is meant to be at equilibrium. And when they're more reactant, more product needs to be created to balance it out which is why there is a shift to the right towards the products. This same logic applies to when Q is greater than K and there is more products then reactants, resulting in a bigger number in the numerator, and a left shift overall. Hope this helps.

[306278293]

Q represents the ratio of [P]/[R] at that given point in the reaction and K is the ratio of when it is at equilibrium. We can see which way a reaction shifts/which side is favored more when looking at Q; if Q > 1, products are favored & if Q < 1, reactants are favored. We can also use this information to see which direction of the reaction is spontaneous or not, depending on the side that the reaction is going in to reach equlibrium.

[jackiee37]

Hello, so when the reaction quotient (Q) is less than the equilibrium constant (K), the reaction moves forward towards equilibrium. When Q>K (the reaction quotient exceeds the equilibrium constant), the reaction moves in the opposite direction to reach equilibrium.

[006033476]

when Q is less than it indicates that the concentration of products is lower than the equilibrium concentration predicted by equilibrium constant. when Q is greater than K it indicates concentration of products is higher.