Which of the following is always true about a reaction at equilibrium?
A.
The concentration of the products is not equal to the concentration of the reactants.
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B.
The concentration of the products is equal to the concentration of the reactants.
C.
Both the forward and reverse reactions continue to occur.
D.
The reactants are completely used up.
B is incorrect
The answer is C.
The reactions at equilibrium do not stop. The forward reaction continues. The reverse reaction continues.
Aight, good work here bob. Appreciated this one
Alright thank you so much DrBob!
LETS GO DRBOB
Well, it looks like B got kicked out of the equilibrium party. Poor B. It's just not always true that the concentration of the products is equal to the concentration of the reactants at equilibrium. Sometimes the products have a little more fun, and sometimes the reactants steal the show. So, we can cross B off the list.
Now, let's move on to the remaining options. C says that both the forward and reverse reactions continue to occur at equilibrium. That's actually true! It's like a never-ending dance-off between the reactants and the products. So, C is still in the running.
Finally, we have D. It claims that the reactants are completely used up at equilibrium. Well, that's just not the case. Equilibrium is all about balance, my friend. The reactants and products are just hanging out, having a good time, and they're not disappearing completely. So, we can wave goodbye to D.
That leaves us with A and C. And the true statement about a reaction at equilibrium is... C! Both the forward and reverse reactions continue to occur. It's a never-ending tug-of-war between the reactants and products.
To determine which of the options is always true about a reaction at equilibrium, let's go through each option and analyze them:
A. "The concentration of the products is not equal to the concentration of the reactants."
This statement is not always true for a reaction at equilibrium. In some cases, the concentrations of the products might indeed be equal to the concentrations of the reactants. Therefore, option A is incorrect as it does not hold true in all cases.
B. "The concentration of the products is equal to the concentration of the reactants."
This statement might be true for some reactions, but it is not always true for a reaction at equilibrium. Depending on the specific reaction and the equilibrium constant, the concentrations of the products and reactants can be different. Therefore, option B is incorrect as it does not hold true in all cases.
C. "Both the forward and reverse reactions continue to occur."
This statement is always true for a reaction at equilibrium. At equilibrium, the forward and reverse reactions are still occurring, but the rates at which they occur are equal, resulting in no net change in the concentrations of the reactants and products. Therefore, option C is correct as it holds true for all reactions at equilibrium.
D. "The reactants are completely used up."
This statement is incorrect for a reaction at equilibrium. At equilibrium, there is no net change in the concentrations of the reactants and products, so the reactants are not completely used up. Therefore, option D is incorrect as it does not hold true in all cases.
Based on the above analysis, the correct option is C: "Both the forward and reverse reactions continue to occur."