Advanced Chemistry Practice Problems

Chemical Equilibrium: Calculating the Equilibrium Constant

1. Question: What is the value of Kc for the decomposition of ammonium carbamate
if the equilibrium concentrations are [NH3] = 0.212 M and [CO2] = 0.106 M?
NH4CO2NH2(s) 2NH3(g) + CO2(g)
Answer: To calculate Kc, the law of mass action must be known for the
equilibrium reaction. Only NH3 and CO2 are included in the expression because
the ammonium carbamate is a solid and is excluded from the expression.
K c NH 3 CO 2
2

K c 0.212 0.106
2

K c 0.00476

2. Question: Given [A]eq = 0.150 M and [B]eq = 0.225, what is [C]eq?

A(aq) + B(aq) 2C(aq)

Kc = 2.61

Answer: When given the equilibrium constant and the equilibrium concentrations
of all but one species, the concentration of the last one can be calculated. The
law of mass action is written based on the balanced chemical equation and the
known values are substituted to solve for the unknown.

C2
A B
2

C
2.61
0.150 0.225
2
C 0.0881 M
Kc

[C] 0.297 M

3. Question: A reaction vessel contains N2O5 with an initial concentration of 1.00 M.

If N2O5 decomposes to form NO2 and O2, what concentrations of NO2 and O2 are
present at equilibrium if [N2O5]eq = 0.268 M? Hint: Write a balanced chemical
equation first.
Answer: As suggested in the hint, write the balanced chemical equation for the
decomposition of N2O5 to NO2 and O2.

Advanced Chemistry Practice Problems

2N2O5 4NO2 + O2
Based on the information in the problem, an ICE (initial, change, equilibrium)
table can be constructed.
INITIAL: The problem states that the initial concentration of N2O5 is 1.00 M.
Since no initial concentrations of NO2 and O2 are given, they are assumed to be
zero.
CHANGE: The change row is determined by the stoichiometry of the balanced
chemical reaction. The coefficients in the balanced equation will also be
coefficients for x because the amount of change for each substance is
proportional to the other substances. Since there are only reactants present
initially, N2O5 must be decreasing and NO2 and O2 will increase.
EQUILIBRIUM: The final row is simply the sum of the initial and change rows in
the table.
N2O5 (M) NO2 (M) O2 (M)
I
1.00
0
0
C
2x
+4x
+x
E 1.00 2x
4x
x
The problem also gives the equilibrium concentration of N2O5 as 0.268.
Therefore
1.00 2 x 0.268
2 x 0.268 1.00
2 x 0.732
x 0.366

Now that the value of x is known, the value of 4x can be determined (1.46). The
terms in the equilibrium row can be replaced with numerical values giving the
equilibrium concentrations of all three substances.
E

N2O5 (M) NO2 (M) O2 (M)

0.268
1.46
0.366