Question and Inquiry

Question

3. For the following system at equilibrium, how will the concentration of methanol [CH3OH] be affected by the changes below?

  CO(g) + 2 H2(g) ⇆  CH3OH(g) ΔH = -18 kJ

a) increasing the volume of the container    

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b) increasing the temperature

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Answer 1

a) increasing the volume: this is essentially the same as reducing the pressure so the equilibrium should shift to the right producing more methanol

b) Increasing the temperature: since ∆H of the reaction is negative, this tells us that the reaction is exothermic meaning heat is a product of the reaction. Thus increasing the temperature should shift the equilibrium to the left thereby producing less methanol.