Experiment3 Le Chateliers Principle Siao, Taggart, Fuentes, David Group 3, Chem 18.1, AB1, Mr.

Yevgeny Dulla May 2012

I. ABSTRACT The Le Chateliers Principle states that if an external stress is applied to a system at equilibrium, the system adjusts in such a way that the stress is partially offset as it tries to reestablish equilibrium. That stress can be a change in concentration, a change in pressure and volume, a change in temperature, and the addition of a catalyst. If a change in concentration occurs, the system at equilibrium will shift to the side with a lower concentration. For example, an increase in concentration of reactants will yield a forward shift (shift to the right). While if a change in pressure/ volume occurs, the system will either shift to the side with more moles of gas or to the side with less moles of gas. An increase in pressure or a decrease in volume causes the system to shift to the side with fewer moles of gas and vice versa. A change in temperature either favors an endothermic reaction or an exothermic reaction. An increase in temperature favors an endothermic reaction and vice versa. The change in temperature is the only form of stress which can alter the equilibrium constant. Finally, the addition of a catalyst will only lower the activation energy of the forward and reverse reactions. In other words, the addition of a catalyst helps the system reach equilibrium sooner; it does not change the equilibrium constant nor does it favor a forward or reverse reaction. II. Key words: Le Chateliers Principle, Equilibrium, Equilibrium shift, stressors

III. Introduction: Chemical reactions do not always go to completion. Some reactions actually prefer a state of equilibrium where the concentrations of the products and the reactants are constant. This does not mean that there is no reaction occurring, rather, this means that the rate of formation of the products is equal to the rate of consumption of the reactants. The Le Chateliers principle is a rule which states that when a certain stressor is introduced to a system, the system will proceed to counteract the effect of the change. This principle will help us predict the direction of shift of equilibrium when a stress such as a change in concentration, pressure, volume or temperature occurs. Stressors remove the system from a state of equilibrium.

This experiment focused on the effects of changes in concentration and temperature as well as a change in temperature. It aimed to explain how the stressor affected the progress of the reaction based on Le Chateliers Principle. IV. Methodology: Two spot plates were labelled in this manner:

Chem 18.1 Le Chateliers Principle

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Experiment3 Le Chateliers Principle Siao, Taggart, Fuentes, David Group 3, Chem 18.1, AB1, Mr. Yevgeny Dulla May 2012 H F

V. Results: Part 1

The test solution was prepared by mixing one (1) ml 2.0 M Cu(NO3)2, one(1) ml 2.0 M NH4OH and five (5) ml distilled water in a test tube. Five drops of the test solution was placed in each of the 10 spots on the spot plate. On the spot labelled S, 5 drops of water were added to the test solution, this serves as the standard for comparison. The following table shows the reagents added to each of the spots containing 5 drops of the test solution. Table 1. Reagents added to the labelled spots Spot S A B C D E F Reagent 5 drops H20 5 drops 0.1M Cu(NO3)2 5 drops 0.1M NH4OH 5 drops 0.1M K4Fe(CN)6 5 drops 0.1M HCl 5 drops 0.1M NaOH 5 drops 0.1M NaNO3

A. 0.1 M Cu(NO3)2- Darker compared to the original sample B. 0.1 M NH4OH- Darker compared to the original sample C. 0.1 M K4Fe(CN)6- Formed a reddish brown precipitate D. 0.1 M HCl- Lighter compared to the original sample E. 0.1 M NaOH- Lighter compared to the original sample F. 0.1 M NaNO3- Darker compared to the original sample G. 1mL of solution + 0.50 mL water subjected to water bath- Lighter compared to original sample

Part 2 A. 5 drops of 0.1 M K2Cr04 + 6.0 M HClFormed an orange solution *After being titrated with 3.0 M NaOHYielded a solution of a yellow color B. Resulting solution in Setup A was titrated with 0.1 M Pb(NO3)2- Retained a yellow color *After the new solution was titrated with 6.0 M HCl- Yielded a solution of a orange color VI. Discussion: The chemical equation being studied is the reaction of Cu2+ with NH3 to produce [Cu(NH3)4]2+ represented by the equation Cu2+ + 4NH3 [Cu(NH3)4]2+

For the spot plate labelled G, 1mL of the test solution and 0.5 mL of H2O were mixed in a test tube then placed in a cold water bath for 5 minutes. 10 drops of this solution was placed in position G and S was the standard of comparison. 5 drops of K2CrO4 was placed in position H and 6M HCl until coloration persists then 3 M NaOH was added until a change occurs. For position I, 5 drops of K2CrO4 was added to the test solution in position I and treated with Pb(NO3)2 until precipitation occurs. Then 6M HCl was added until another change occurs. Chem 18.1 Le Chateliers Principle

The complex formed is known as Schweizers reagent. This compound has a deep blue color and was used as the standard for comparison of the equilibrium shifts which will be observed Page 2 of 4

Experiment3 Le Chateliers Principle Siao, Taggart, Fuentes, David Group 3, Chem 18.1, AB1, Mr. Yevgeny Dulla May 2012 after the addition of the reagents. A deeper color of blue would indicate that the reaction proceeds in favour of the products (forward shift) and a lighter color of blue would indicate that the reaction favoured the reactants (backward shift). In position A, Cu(NO3)2 was added to the test solution. The increase in concentration of Cu(NO)3 caused the reaction to proceed forward to counteract the increase in concentration of the said compound. This will simultaneously consume NH4OH to produce more [Cu(NH3)4]2+ In position B, NH4OH was added to the test solution. As in position A, the increase in concentration of NH4OH caused the reaction to proceed forward forming more more [Cu(NH3)4]2+ In position C, K4Fe(CN)6 was added to the test solution. This compound will dissociate to K+ and Fe(CN)6. Fe(CN)6 reacted with Cu2+ to form Cu2[Fe(CN)6] which reduces the amount of copper in the reaction which in turn would cause the reaction to proceed backward to counteract the decrease in copper. Cu2[Fe(CN)6] is the brown precipitate that was observed. In position D, HCl was added. HCl consumes Schweizers Reagent and this causes the formation of the a yellow substance and also, the reduction of the amount of Schweizers reagent would cause the reaction to proceed in reverse thus causing the lighter color of the system. In position E, NaOH was added, but this addition has no effect and the observed lightening of the system is an error in observation. The Na+ and OH- ions have no effect whatsoever on the system. This was also the case in position F, the NaNO3 does not affect the reaction and the Na and NO3 were spectator ions.

For position G, the system was placed in a cold water bath. The formation of Schweizers reagent is an exothermic reaction, therefore it produces heat along with the products. the water bath takes away heat, therefore, the system would proceed to counteract the change and produce more of the products therefore the system will turn darker. The equilibrium equation in position H is as follows: H+ + 2CrO42- OH- + Cr2O72CrO42- is yellow while Cr2O7 is orange. The addition of HCl increased the amount of H+ and the reaction proceeded forward, and the solution turned orange. While the addition of NaOH increased the amount of OH- and the reaction proceeded backward. This in turn turned the solution to yellow. In position I, Pb(NO3)2 was added to K2CrO4 this produced a whitish brown precipitate PbCrO4. Also, this reduced the amount of CrO4 and the yellow color disappeared because Pb(NO3)2 consumed it. The addition of HCl dissolved the precipitate PbCrO4 and produced H2CrO4 and this can dissociate, thus the yellow color reappeared.

VII. Conclusions and Recommendations: There are several factors which affect a system at equilibrium. These factors are a change in temperature, pressure and volume, concentration and the addition of a catalyst. All the factors except the addition of a catalyst, can alter the equilibrium concentrations of the reaction. An increase in temperature favors an endothermic reaction while a decrease in temperature favors an exothermic reaction. An increase in pressure or a decrease in volume favors the side with fewer moles of gas while a Page 3 of 4

Chem 18.1 Le Chateliers Principle

Experiment3 Le Chateliers Principle Siao, Taggart, Fuentes, David Group 3, Chem 18.1, AB1, Mr. Yevgeny Dulla May 2012 decrease in temperature or an increase in volume favors the side with more moles of gas. An increase in concentration of reactants or a decrease in concentration of products will result in a shift towards the product side while an increase in concentration of products or a decrease in concentration of reactants will shift the equilibrium towards the reactants side. Out of all the stressors discussed, only the change in temperature can alter the equilibrium constant of a system. After performing the experiment, we recommend changing the reagents to be used for this experiment. At some instances during the experiment, we were confused in identifying if the resulting solution had a lighter or a darker color compared to the original sample. There was only a very minute difference in color between all of the samples. Using a newer system which will have a more noticeable difference in color is recommended. As always, proper handling of the reagents must be observed. Some of the results may not be consistent due to contamination.
IX. References Brown, T. L., Lemay H. E. (2004). Chemistry the central science (9 ed.). Philippines: Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd.
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Taggart G. Siao

Chang, R. (2002). Chemistry (7 ed.). Singapore: McGraw Hill Education Asia.

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I hereby certify that I have given substantial contribution to this report:

David Norman Fuentes Chem 18.1 Le Chateliers Principle Page 4 of 4