Equilibrium of stearic acid dimerization when dissolved in hexane

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The discussion focuses on the dimerization of stearic acid in hexane, which is an exothermic reaction with a given equilibrium constant of 2900 at 28°C. As the temperature increases to 38°C, the equilibrium shifts left, favoring the reactants and resulting in a decrease in the equilibrium constant. The participant eliminates options larger than 2900 and considers choices 2, 4, and 5 as potential answers, with choice 2 appearing most reasonable. The participant seeks confirmation of their reasoning and whether there is a method to calculate the new equilibrium constant. The conversation highlights the relationship between temperature changes and equilibrium shifts in chemical reactions.
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Homework Statement



Stearic acid, nature's most common fatty acid, dimerizes when dissolved in hexane:
2C17H35COOH --> (C17H35COOH)2 H°rxn = -172 kJ
The equilibrium constant for this reaction at 28°C is 2900. Estimate the equilibrium constant at 38°C.

1) 4.7 *10^5
2) 1.9 * 10^3
3) 2.6 *10^4
4) 18
5) 3.2 *10^2



The Attempt at a Solution



The reaction is exothermic( since delta H is negative)
therefore the actual equation will look like:

2C17H35COOH --> (C17H35COOH)2 + heat

If the temperature chanages from 28C to 38C it means that
the heat is added to the system, thus, the equilibrium will shift towards left.
this will cause the reactant to increase
making Kc to decrease. (since Kc= product/reactant)

So I eliminated answer choices that are larger than 2900 (the Kc at 28C).
And I'm left with 2, 4, and 5.
The anwer choice 2 seems to be the most reasonable
since it decrease by 100, and the other answers seem to decrease too much.
But I'm not positive about my decision.
Is there any way to actually caculate Kc value, or is my method correct?

Help!
 
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