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Chemical equilibrium occurs when the rate of the forward reaction is equal to the rate of the reverse reaction. Take this example:

2NO2(g) ↔

N2O4(g)


At this point of the reaction the rate of N2O4 produced from NO2 is the same as the rate of NO2 produced from N2O4. The key aspect to keep in mind is that the amounts (of moles) of products and reactants at equilibrium is not always 50%/50%. It is usually not.


Finding the amounts of products and reactants present during a reaction can be found using Q. Q is known as the reaction quotient. Q can be found like so:


Q=[products]

/[reactants]

reaction quotient =

concentrations of products (M) / concentrations of reactants


Q is used to find this ratio at a certain point in time during a reaction (not at

equlilibrium)

Most likely, you will be given Keq

, the equilibrium constant, for a reaction. The value tells you the concentrations of products/reactants at equilibrium. Comparing Q and Keq

will tell you whether a reaction is at equilibrium.


Not to get off topic, the answer is that equilibrium does not mean that the reaction mixture has 50% reactants and 50% products. Equilibrium means that the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction.

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