Equilibrium of stearic acid dimerization when dissolved in hexane

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the dimerization of stearic acid in hexane, represented by the reaction 2C17H35COOH --> (C17H35COOH)2, with an equilibrium constant (Kc) of 2900 at 28°C. As the reaction is exothermic (ΔH°rxn = -172 kJ), increasing the temperature to 38°C shifts the equilibrium to the left, resulting in a decrease in Kc. The participant concludes that the most reasonable estimate for Kc at 38°C is 1.9 * 10^3, based on the understanding that Kc decreases with increasing temperature for exothermic 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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