Question

Suppose a reaction has the equilibrium constant \(K=1.7 \times 10^{-8}\) at a particular temperature. Will there be a large or small amount of unreacted starting material present when this reaction reaches equilibrium? Is this reaction likely to be a good source of products at this temperature?

Short answer

When the reaction reaches equilibrium, there will be a large amount of unreacted starting material present as the equilibrium constant, K = \(1.7 \times 10^{-8}\), is much smaller than 1, indicating that the reaction favors the formation of reactants. Consequently, this reaction is unlikely to be a good source of products at this temperature.

Step-by-step solution

Interpreting the value of K

Given the equilibrium constant K = 1.7 x 10^(-8), we can already see that K is much smaller than 1. This means that the reaction favors the formation of reactants rather than products. So, when the reaction reaches equilibrium, there will be a significant amount of unreacted starting material.

Determining if the reaction is a good source of products

Since the equilibrium constant K is significantly smaller than 1, this means the reaction does not favor the formation of products. Therefore, it is unlikely that the reaction will be a good source of products at this temperature.