When S in the form of S8 is heated at 900 K, the initial pressure of 1...
Given:
- Sulfur (S) is in the form of S8.
- S8 is heated at 900 K.
- The initial pressure is 1 atm.
- The pressure falls by 29% at equilibrium.
- The reaction is the conversion of S8 to S2.
To find:
- The value of the equilibrium constant (K) for this reaction.
Explanation:
The reaction is given by:
S8 ⇌ 4S2
The balanced equation indicates that for every 1 mole of S8, 4 moles of S2 are formed.
Let's assume the initial number of moles of S8 is 'n'. Therefore, the initial number of moles of S2 is 0.
At equilibrium, the number of moles of S8 remaining is 'n - Δn', and the number of moles of S2 formed is '4Δn'.
According to the ideal gas law, the pressure is directly proportional to the number of moles, so the pressure of S8 remaining is 'P - PΔn' and the pressure of S2 formed is '4PΔn'.
Given that the pressure falls by 29% at equilibrium, we can write the equation:
P - PΔn = 0.71P
Simplifying the equation, we get:
PΔn = 0.29P
The value of Δn can be determined from the balanced equation:
Δn = 4Δn(S2) - Δn(S8) = 4(4PΔn) - (n - Δn) ≈ 16PΔn - n
Substituting the value of PΔn from the previous equation, we get:
0.29P = 16PΔn - n
Rearranging the equation, we get:
16PΔn - n - 0.29P = 0
Now, we can solve this quadratic equation to find the value of Δn.
Using the quadratic formula, we get:
Δn = [n + sqrt(n^2 + 4(16P)(0.29P))] / (2(16P))
Since n is the initial number of moles of S8, which is unknown, we can assume n = 1 (as given in the question).
Substituting the values and solving the equation, we get:
Δn ≈ 0.125P
The equilibrium constant (K) for the reaction can be calculated using the formula:
K = (P(S2))^4 / (P(S8))
Substituting the values, we get:
K = [(4PΔn)^4] / [(P - PΔn)^1]
Simplifying the equation, we get:
K = (256P^4(Δn)^4) / (P - PΔn)
Substituting the value of Δn, we get:
K = (256P^4(0.125P)^4) / (P - 0.125P)
Simplifying further, we get:
K = (256P^4(0.015625P^4)) / (0.875P)
Cancelling out the common terms, we get:
K = 256