Chemical equilibrium is a state in a chemical reaction where the concentrations of the reactants and products remain constant over time. This means that the forward and reverse reactions are occurring at the same rate, resulting in no net change in the overall concentration of the reactants and products.
A reaction has reached equilibrium when the concentrations of the reactants and products no longer change over time. This can be determined by measuring the concentrations of the reactants and products at different time intervals and observing if they remain constant.
The factors that can affect chemical equilibrium include temperature, pressure, and concentration of reactants and products. Changes in these factors can shift the equilibrium in either the forward or reverse direction.
The equilibrium constant (K) is calculated by taking the concentrations of the products raised to their respective coefficients and dividing it by the concentrations of the reactants raised to their respective coefficients. The coefficients in the balanced chemical equation represent the number of moles of each substance.
Le Chatelier's principle states that when a system at equilibrium is subjected to a change, the system will shift in a direction that minimizes the effect of that change. In the context of chemical equilibrium, this means that if a change is made to the concentration, pressure, or temperature of the system, the equilibrium will shift in a direction that reduces the impact of that change.