Sunday, October 1, 2017

kinetics - Why are equilibrium constants unitless?


I haven’t quite reached the point where I can read a full-fledged text on chemical kinetics and thermodynamics yet, so bear with me, please.


I’m wondering why a value like Keq=[NO]2[OX2][NOX2]2 wouldn't have units of M?



Answer



I goofed up the first time I tried to answer this question, erroneously applying dimensional analysis to your equilibrium expression.



It turns out that Silberberg[1] gives a good explanation of why Keq is dimensionless, which is often glossed over as the terms of the equilibrium expression are generally taught as concentrations. In actual fact, the terms are ratios of the concentration or activity of each species with a reference concentration (1 molL1 for solutions.) For example, a concentration of 2 molL1 divided by a reference of 1 molL1 yields a ratio of 2, with no units. As each term has no units, so too does Keq.


[1] Silberberg, M.E.; Chemistry – The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change 3e; 2003, p. 719


No comments:

Post a Comment

periodic trends - Comparing radii in lithium, beryllium, magnesium, aluminium and sodium ions

Apparently the of last four, MgX2+ is closest in radius to LiX+. Is this true, and if so, why would a whole larger shell ($\ce{...