Madison McDonald

Chemistry Laboratory

Section O1 - Tim

Experiment 6

How Can a Chemical Equilibrium Be Shifted?

Introduction:

Once a chemical reaction has reached equilibrium, the concentration of the solution's

reactants and products will remain constant. There are three ways to perturb a solution that is at

equilibrium. These are by changing the concentration of the reactants, changing the volume or

pressure, and changing the temperature. Of these, the temperature is the only factor that can

change the equilibrium constant, or Kc, of the reaction. A saturated solution contains the

maximum amount of solute that can be dissolved in a solvent at a specific temperature, therefore

the solution is at equilibrium. If a salt is added to a saturated solution, the extra salt will not

dissolve, instead it will fall to the bottom of the solution. If water is added to a saturated solution,

it will cause dilution, and the reaction shifts towards the products. In an endothermic reaction,

equilibrium shifts towards the products when the temperature is increased because it attempts to

absorb the additional heat energy. In an exothermic reaction, equilibrium shifts towards the

reactants when the temperature is increased, meaning that less products are produced in order to

counteract the additional heat.

Le Chatelier’s principle states that the chemical system responds to minimize the

disturbance, when a system is at equilibrium. In other words, a system at equilibrium maintains

equilibrium. If you increase the concentration of a reactant, the reaction will shift towards the

products. Similarly, if you increase the concentration of a product, the reaction will shift towards
the reactants. Since pressure and volume are inversely related, a decrease in volume causes an

increase in pressure, and an increase in volume causes a decrease in pressure. Therefore, if the

volume of a system at equilibrium is changed, then the pressure will also shift in order to

minimize the change. Decreasing the volume causes the reaction to shift towards the side of the

reaction with fewer moles of gas, and increasing the volume causes the reaction to shift towards

the side of the reaction with a greater number of moles of gas. Changing the temperature of a

system at equilibrium changes the actual value of equilibrium. In an exothermic reaction,

increasing the temperature causes a shift to the left, and decreasing the temperature causes a shift

to the right. The opposite occurs in an endothermic reaction.

Precipitation occurs when two solutions containing ionic compounds are mixed together.

Ksp is used to measure the value of the product at equilibrium only. If Q is equal to Ksp, the

reaction is at equilibrium and does not make progress in either direction. The amount of

precipitate would be very small, usually too small to be visible. Q can be used to predict whether

a solution will be unsaturated, saturated, or supersaturated. Selective precipitation is necessary

when a solution contains several different metal cations. These ions can be separated by adding a

reagent that will precipitate one of the ions but not the other. Equilibrium that involves transition

metal ions, water molecules act as electron donors to hydrate transition metal ions. The solubility

of an ionic compound will increase with acidity because the acid reacts with the anion and drives

the reaction towards the products.

Procedure:

Part One:

1. Retrieve kit from the stockroom.

2. Set up a test tube rack with six labeled test tubes.

4. Bring the test tube rack to the fume hood.

5. Add HCl one drop at a time into tube 2 until 5 or 6 drops have been added, or a change is

observed. Compare to the reference tube.

6. Add the same number of drops of nitric acid to test tube 3, observe any reaction.

7. Compare test tube 2 and 3 to the control test tube. Observe the different reactions.

8. Add 5-6 drops of NaOH, one drop at a time, to test tube number 4. Record the number of

drops and any observations that are observed.

9. Add the same number of drops of KOH as NaOH, into test tube number 5. Compare the

contents of this test tube and test tube 5.

10. Compare the reactants completed in steps 7 and 8.

11. Add acetone to test tube 6, one drop at a time, until 10 drops have been added or a change

is observed.

12. Compare test tube 6 to the reference test tube. Record observations.

Part Two:

1. Set up four labeled test tubes in the test tube rack.

2. Transfer 10 drops of 0.10 M Cu(NO3)2 to test tubes 1-3.

3. Add a few drops of water.

4. Observe the visual appearance of the reaction of the copper (ll) complex with water.

5. Add 10 drops of .1 M NaOH to each test tube. Record the visual observations. Set aside

test tube 1-3.

6. Stir and observe the reaction while slowly adding HNO3 to test tube 2. Record

observations.
 7. Stir and observe the reaction while slowly adding 20 drops of 1 M sodium nitrate to Test

tube 3. Record observations.

8. Create the reverse reaction. Add 10 drops of .1 M Cu(NO3)2 to test tube 4. Add 20 drops

of 1 M nitric acid. Stir, then add 10 drops of .1 M NaOH, record the observations.

9. Compare test tube 2 and 4, record observations.

Part Three:

1. Retrieve a small erlenmeyer flask.

2. Mix 10 mL of 0.1 M CuSO4 and 10 mL of 0.1M KI in the flask.

3. Observe and explain and observations.

4. Add 10 mL of hexane to the flask.

5. Mix thoroughly.

6. Add a total of 3 mL of 5 M NH3 to the f;ask, using a dropper. Mix thoroughly.

7. Add 5 mL of 5 M HCl to the flask, using a dropper.

8. Mix thoroughly.

Observations:

Part one of the lab was dealing with saturated sodium sodium chloride.Tube 1 was

the reference tube with 3 milliliters of NaCl, nothing additional was added. The liquid

appeared clear with no precipitate. Test tube 2 had six drops of concentrated HCl added

to it. The reaction caused a white precipitate to form on the bottom of the test tube. Test

tube 3 had six drops of nitric acid, or HNO3, added to it. This reaction did not cause a

precipitate to form, and the solution looked extremely similar to the control tube. Test

tube 4 had six drops of sodium hydroxide, or NaOH, added to it. This reaction formed a

white precipitate at the bottom of the test tube. Test tube five had six drops of potassium
hydroxide, or KOH, added to it. This reaction did not form a precipitate. Test tube six had

ten drops of acetone added to it.This caused the solution to form a white and cloudy

precipitate. The acetone lowered the solubility of NaCl, so it settled on the top.

To set up for part two of the lab, four small test tubes were prepared, three with

ten drops of .10 M Cu(NO3)2. The copper (11) complex appeared as a clearish, blue

color. Then, ten drops of .10 M NaOH were added to each of the three test tubes, which

caused the copper to react with the hydroxide ion and change the color of the solution to

a darker blue. In tube 2, twenty drops of 1 M nitric acid were added to the solution. The

nitric acid dilutes the solution and causes it to become clear again. The equilibrium shifts

towards the reactants as the H+ ion concentration increases. Tube 3 received twenty drops

of 1 M sodium nitrate. The solution appeared to clear up, but was still slightly opaque.

When the reverse reaction was facilitated, the reaction looked extremely similar to the

second test tube. The order that substances are added affects the equilibrium momentarily,

but it will eventually level out. When NaOH is added first, equilibrium shifts right. WHen

HNO3 is added first, equilibrium shifts left.

To prepare the equilibrium system, ten milliliters of .1 M CuSO4 and ten

milliliters of .1 KI were added into an erlenmeyer flask. The solution was a dark brown

color. Then, ten milliliters of hexane was added to the solution. This caused a light pink

layer to form on top of the solution, the dark brown changed to a deep orange. After

adding three milliliters of 5 M NH3 to the solution, and mixing it, the solution changed to

a dark blue color as the equilibrium shifted right. Lastly, 5 milliliters of 5 M HCl was

added to the mixture. The solution became a pretty, layered solution that was yellow on

the bottom, blue in the middle, and pink on the top. Pictures of each reaction are below.
Data analysis sheet:
Part One:

1. The addition of concentrated HCl to saturated sodium chloride shifted the equilibrium to

the reactant side, or the left. This is due to Le Chatelier’s principle, stating that when the

concentration of a product increases, the reaction will shift towards the reactants to

minimize the change done on the system.

2. HCl and HNO3 have different dissociation constants. When placed in sodium chloride,

HNO3 will ionize more than the HCl because it was a smaller pKa. This means that

HNO3 donates more H+ ions to the system, which causes the reaction to move towards

the reactants. This causes the NaCl concentration to decrease. On the other hand, HCl

ionizes less, which means less H+ ions are donated, so the reaction moves towards the

products. This resulted in a white precipitate in the second test tube, and no precipitate in

the third test tube.

3. NaOH and KOH are both strong bases, however they affect the sodium chloride

equilibrium system differently. In the sodium chloride solution NaOH has a higher

affinity for chloride ions, meaning that the NaOH reacts more with the chloride ions than

KOH does. Due to the greater reaction of chloride ions with NaOH, the reaction will shift

towards the reactants. This means that the concentration of NaCl will decrease. KOH

reacts with less chloride ions, so it shifts towards the products and increases the

concentration of NaCl.

4. Acetone added to a saturated sodium chloride solution will shift the reaction towards the

right. The observation that supports this fact is that acetone increases the concentration of

NaCl. It facilitates the dissociation of NaCl into its ions of Na+ and Cl-. The acetone
 decreases the attraction between the two ions, which allows more NaCl to dissociate, and

therefore shift to the products.

5. The reaction conditions that shift the position of equilibrium to favor the formation of

solid sodium chloride are adding sodium or chloride ions. Having a higher concentration

of its ions will allow for greater formation of solid sodium chloride.

6. If 1 M HNO3 is added to a system, it will be used to form more of the hydrated copper

complex. Therefore, the equilibrium will shift towards the left side, the reactants.

7. The ion that is causing the equilibrium to shift to the left is NO3. The HNO3 is a strong

acid, so it will completely dissociate. The reaction wants to maintain equilibrium so the

reaction shifts towards the left side to maintain balance.

8. The order of addition of nitric acid and sodium hydroxide affects the reaction originally

because they affect the reaction in opposite ways. Addition of the NaOH first would shift

the equilibrium to the right. Addition of HNO3 first would shift the equilibrium to the

left.

9. The reaction conditions that appear to shift the position of equilibrium to make the

formation of a complex with hydroxide ion as complete as possible are increasing the

concentration of the base present. Increasing the concentration of the OH- ions promotes

the formation and stability of the complexes.

10. The cobalt complex was formed in an aqueous solution. Deionized water was added to

the solution of CoCl4^2-, which formed Co(H2O)Cl4^2+. The water replaced a chloride

ion, which resulted in a new complex being formed.

Discussion:
 Equilibrium is affected by the addition of different ions to the solution. This reaction can

be attributed to Le Chatelier's principle. When ions are introduced, they can shift the balance of

chemical reactions by altering the concentrations of reactants and products. Adding a common

ion can suppress the dissociation of a soluble salt, which leads to decreased solubility.

Introducing ions that react with existing components can drive reactions to favor the formation of

products, which impacts the overall equilibrium position. This highlights the dynamic nature of

chemical systems and the critical role of ion concentration in determining solubility and

reactivity.

In this experiment, there were a few possibilities for error to be introduced. The lab

procedure called for 5-6 drops of each concentrated solution to be added to the indicated test

tube. However, the directions also say “until a reaction occurs.” This left room for a discrepancy

in the amount of drops added to each test tube. Meaning that, one tube might have gotten slightly

more or less drops then it needed to complete its reaction. This is a human error that could be

avoided by using a more precise measuring system when adding the drops. Another source of

error during this experiment was the possible contamination of the solution. The stir rod used to

mix the solutions was not thoroughly cleaned between the different solutions. This could have

caused ions from one solution to be transferred into another solution, skewing the reaction.

Although the effects were likely minimal, it could still affect the overall reaction results.

Conclusion:

A chemical reaction at equilibrium maintains constant concentrations of reactants and

products, but can be disturbed by changes in concentration, volume, pressure, or temperature. For

example, increasing the concentration of reactants drives the reaction towards products, while

changes in volume affect the side of the reaction with fewer or more gas moles. Temperature
changes further complicate the equilibrium dynamics, with endothermic reactions favoring

products upon heating and exothermic reactions favoring reactants. Also, precipitation reactions

and solubility considerations highlight the balance of ionic interactions in saturated solutions.

Overall, understanding these principles is crucial for manipulating chemical reactions in various

applications.