Le Chatelier's principle

Examples of Le Chatelier's principle in the following topics:

• Changes in Temperature

  • Changes in temperature shift the equilibrium state of chemical reactions; these changes can be predicted using Le Chatelier's Principle.
  • The effect of changes to the equilibrium state can be predicted using Le Chatelier's Principle.
  • Le Chatelier's Principle states that when changes are made to a reversible chemical reaction in equilibrium, the system will compensate for that change with a predictable, opposing shift.
  • Le Chatelier's Principle predicts that the addition of products or the removal of reactants from a system will reverse the direction of a reaction, while the addition of reactants or the removal of products from a system will push the reaction towards the formation of products.
  • Applied to temperature, Le Chatelier's Principle predicts that the addition of heat to a system will cause an opposing reaction in the system to remove heat.

• Changes in Volume and Pressure

  • The effects of changes in volume and pressure on a reversible reaction in chemical equilibrium can be predicted by Le Chatelier's Principle.
  • The effects of changes in volume and pressure on chemical equilibrium can be predicted using Le Chatelier's Principle.
  • Le Chatelier's Principle states that disturbances to a system in equilibrium can be predicted: opposing shifts in the system will occur to restore equilibrium.
  • This principle can be applied to changes in temperature, concentration, volume, and pressure.
  • Le Chatelier's Principle can be used to predict the response of a reversible chemical reaction to a change in the system.

• Le Chatelier's Principle

  • Le Chatelier's principle states that changes to an equilibrium system will result in a predictable shift that will counteract the change.
  • Le Chatelier's principle is an observation about chemical equilibria of reactions.
  • By Le Chatelier's principle, increasing the temperature will shift the equilibrium to the right, producing more NO2.
  • This lesson shows how Le Chatelier's principle predicts changes in an equilibrium.
  • Recall factors that Le Chatelier's principle states will affect the equilibrium of a system

• Changes in Concentration

  • The effect of changes in the concentration of products and reactants in a reversible reaction can be predicted by Le Chatelier's Principle.
  • This principle has a variety of names; in chemistry it is known as Le Chatelier's principle.
  • Using Le Chatelier's principle, we can predict that the amount of methanol will increase, decreasing the total change in CO.

• The Common Ion Effect

  • The common ion effect can be explained by Le Chatelier's principle of chemical equilibrium:
  • According to Le Chatelier's principle, addition of more ions alters the equilibrium and shifts the reaction to favor the solid or deionized form.

• Regulation of H+ by the Lungs

  • This alters the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood, shifting the above reaction according to Le Chatelier's principle, which in turn alters the pH.
  • The basic reaction governed by this principle is as follows:

• Solid Solubility and Temperature

  • This temperature dependence is sometimes referred to as retrograde or inverse solubility, and exists when a salt's dissolution is exothermic; this can be explained because, according to Le Chatelier's principle, extra heat will cause the equilibrium for an exothermic process to shift towards the reactants.

• Chemical Buffer Systems

  • This alters the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood, shifting the above reaction according to Le Chatelier's principle, which in turn alters the pH.

• Effect of a Common Ion on Solubility

  • This is because Le Chatelier's principle states the reaction will shift toward the left (toward the reactants) to relieve the stress of the excess product.

• Preparing a Buffer Solution with a Specific pH

  • When some strong acid (more H+) is added to an equilibrium mixture of the weak acid and its conjugate base, the equilibrium is shifted to the left, in accordance with Le Chatelier's principle.