How does an equilibrium react when the conditions of concentration, temperature or pressure are changed?
Once an equilibrium forms, they react to changes in conditions in a very different way from their behaviour as the equilibrium forms. A French scientist named Le Chatelier was the first to succeed in describing a principle that explains this behaviour, and predicts correctly changes that will occur when the equilibrium’s conditions are changed. Le Chatelier’s Principle Le Chatelier’s principle states that any equilibrium that is subjected to changing conditions of temperature, concentration or pressure will react in a way to minimize the change. A number of generalizations can help us apply his principle in chemical systems. Complete the following concept attainment to help develop some of these generalizations.
