Direction of the equilibrium [ENDORSED]

[Sophie Krylova 2J]

If for the ice box problem you are given initial concentrations and not asked to find Q, can you assume that the reaction will proceed to the products side, or do we always need to find Q first to make sure of the direction?

[Curtis Tam 1J]

Most of the time, you just need to calculate Q when there are concentrations on both sides because we wouldn't know for sure which direction to go. However, if only one side of the equation has given concentrations, you can assume the other side is zero, so always shift in that direction.