CONTENTS

ATTAINED IN A CLOSED SYSTEM

EQUAL RATES OF REACTIONS
CONSTANT COMPOSITION
DYNAMIC IN NATURE
DIRECTIONS OF ATTAINMENT OF
EQUILIBRIUM
DISTURBANCE IN EQUILIBRIUM
RECOGNITION OF EQUILIBRIUM STATE
ATTAINED IN CLOSED SYSTEM

A closed system is that which neither gains nor loses

any matter with the surroundings. Thus in a closed
system the amount of matter remains constant.
Equilibrium state is achieved when a reversible reaction
is carried out in a closed container. This is because, for a
reversible reaction to happen, the products should be
converted back to reactants. So, a closed container will
ensure that none of the products escape.
EQUAL RATES OF REACTIONS

At equilibrium, the rate of forward reaction is equal to the

rate of backward reaction. That is, the rate of change of
concentration of reactants is equal to the rate of change
of concentration of products .i.e. R1=R2
 CONSTANT COMPOSITION
At equilibrium ,the rate of forward reaction is equal to the
rate of backward reaction. This means that after
equilibrium is reached, the concentration of reactants
converted to products is equal to the concentration of
products converted to reactants. For example, if 10
Moles/Lt of reactants is converted to products ,then 10
Moles/Lt of products convert to reactants. Thus , the
concentration of reactants and products , the
composition of mixture remains
constant at equilibrium.
 DYNAMIC IN NATURE

At equilibrium, the concentrations of reactants and

products may or may nit be equal, but they remain
unchanged with time.
This, however, does not mean that the reaction has
stopped at equilibrium. In fact, at this stage the reaction
proceeds in such a way that the rate of formation of
products from reactants is equal to the rate of formation
of the reactants from products. Such a state of
equilibrium is termed as dynamic equilibrium.
The three possible situations at the
equilibrium stage are shown in the
figures:
(a) When the concentrations of reactants and products are
equal:
(b) When a very small amount of product is formed i.e. the
concentration of unchanged reactant is large compared
to the concentration of product:
(c) When the concentration of the product is much higher
than that of the reactants:
DIRECTIONS OF ATTAINMENT
OF CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM
The reactants form products until the state of equilibrium
is reached , and the products form reactants until the
state of equilibrium is reached. Thus, chemical
equilibrium can be attained from either end of a
reversible reaction. This can be demonstrated with the
help of a simple experiment involving the chemical
equilibrium.
 EXPERIMENT

Take two sealed glass bulbs A and B filled with the same
sample of NO vapours. At room temperature both the
bulbs have a light reddish-brown colour. Place the bulb A
in ice(0oC) and B in boiling water(100oC).
The bulb A (which is placed in ice) is colorless due to the
formation of N2O4, while the bulb B (which is placed in
boiling water) has become deep reddish brown due to
the formation of NO2.
Now shift both the bulbs to a trough containing ordinary
water at the room temperature. After sometime, the gas
in both A and B becomes equally brown , i.e. ,deeper
than that at 0o C, and lighter than that at 100oC.This
shows that , the chemical equilibrium,
can be attained from either end of the chemical reaction.
DISTURBANCE IN EQUILIBRIUM

The system in equilibrium state will continue to be in

equilibrium , as long as the external conditions are not
disturbed. That is, at equilibrium, the macroscopic
properties of the system such as concentration,
temperature, pressure, colour do not change with time.
RECOGNITION OF EQUILIBRIUM
STATE
The attainment of equilibrium state is recognized by the
constancy of some properties of the system such as
density, pressure, concentration or colour intensity of the
constituents. The attainment of equilibrium state can be
illustrated by the following example:
When limestone(CaCO3) is heated in a closed vessel at
800oC, it decomposes to give quick lime (CaO) and
Carbon-dioxide(CO2).
Due to the formation of gaseous product, pressure is
developed in the vessel. This pressure can be recorded
with the help of a Manometer.
As the decomposition of limestone continues, the
pressure becomes constant at constant temperature.
Thus the attainment of equilibrium is recognized.