Chemistry Notes – Module 5 & 6

Resource Description

Snippet from the document;

STATIC AND DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM

Reactions will proceed until either a static or dynamic equilibrium is reached. Equilibrium refers to the state of a closed chemical system which:

1. The concentrations of both reactant and products do not change with time
2. The rate of the forward reaction is equal to the rate of the reverse reaction

Irreversible reactions (shown with a forward arrow →) that go to completion reach a static equilibrium.

Reversible reactions (shown with a reversible arrow ⇋) do not go to completion. In a closed system, reversible reactions will instead reach a state known as dynamic equilibrium

• At equilibrium, the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are the same, but non-zero.
• The equilibrium is dynamic because there are changes occurring at the microscopic level, even though the system undergoes no change at the macroscopic level

There are no macroscopic changes when a closed system is at equilibrium.