Kinetics and Equilibrium

Equilibrium

Summary

In this video, the effect of activation energy and reactant concentration on the rate of a reaction is explored. Lego^® molecules are used to visualize the ideas that reactions are reversible, reaction rates change with time, and at equilibrium, the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction.

Learning Objectives

After watching this video students will be able to:

Understand how reaction rate is influenced by reactant concentration.
Explain how reaction rates change as a system establishes equilibrium.
Predict relative equilibrium concentrations of reactant and product, based on rates of forward and reverse processes.

Funding provided by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)

Developed by the Teaching and Learning Laboratory (TLL) at MIT for SUTD

It is highly recommended that the video is paused when prompted so that students are able to attempt the activities on their own and then check their solutions against the video.

During the video, students will:

Draw a reaction coordinate diagram and label the forward and reverse reaction paths.
Suggest what the relationship might be between the activation energy and the relative rates of the forward and reverse reactions.
Predict the relative rates of the forward and reverse reactions for four different hypothetical reactions, given their reaction coordinate diagrams.
Predict the relative concentrations of the reactants and products at equilibrium for four different hypothetical reactions, given their reaction coordinate diagrams.