Equilibrium and Kinetics

[Ariel Fern 2B]

How exactly are equilibrium and kinetics connected, and why do we do this? How does a higher equilibrium constant relate to a rate constant?

[Benjamin Feng 1B]

One way they are connected is through the equilibrium constant K, which can be written in terms of the rate constants K = kf/kr. This means that if the forward rate reaction is larger, then so is the equilibrium constant and the final concentrations of the products.

[Ipsita Srinivas 1K]

The equilibrium constant for a reaction, can be expressed as the ratio of rate constants i.e for a reaction with forward rate constant = k and backward reaction rate constant = k', K= k/k'.
In such a scenario, a large K value implies k>>k' i.e the forward reaction is taking place at a faster rate than the backward reaction, and there is more product formation than reactant formation. Thus this strongly links the kinetics of a reaction to its equilibrium state.