NAME: Evan Pfeifer

DATE: 7/15/2016
Chemical Equilibrium: Le Chteliers Principle
INTRODUCTION/GOALS OF EXPERIMENT
The purpose of this experiment is to prove Le Chteliers
principle is correct by examining several reactions. These reactions will
place stress on the system, so the reactants and products then need to
shift to ensure that it does not become unstable. The student observes
each change that the system undergoes to determine how the reaction
shifted in response to the change. I expect most of the experiments to
be consistent with Le Chteliers principle, meaning that they will all
react in accordance with the principle.

RESULTS

In your results for each section, describe the chemical changes that these
color changes reflect in the table below. For example, using the example
in the Introduction, the well became more yellow than the reference well.
This indicates that H3O+ increased. Then describe how this is
consistent/inconsistent with Le Chteliers principle.
Well #

Observation

Suggested
Chemical Change

Consistent with
expectations/theor
y?
Yes, the solution
turned a yellow color,
which suggests that
it became more
basic.

A1

Started pink,
then turned a
peach-yellow
color, so the
reaction shifted
left.

The reaction will

turn yellow and
become more
basic.

A2

Pink, at
equilibrium.

No change, used as
a reference.

A3

Started pink,
turned a darker
shade of pink.
The reaction
shifted right.

The reaction will

become more
acidic and turn a
darker color.

Yes, solution became

dark pink and more
acidic. The
equilibrium shifted
right.

A4
(hot)

Pink, became
lighter as

Heat was added,

which will lighter

Yes, it became
lighter. This suggests

temperature
increased.

and more basic.

that heat is a product

and the reaction is
exothermic. When
heat was added, the
reaction shifted left
to create more
reactants and settle
at equilibrium.

A5
(cold)

Pink, got darker

as temperature
decreased.

Heat was removed,

which will make the
solution darker and
more acidic.

Yes, it became darker

and more acidic.
Because heat is a
product and it was
removed, the
equilibrium shifted
right.

B1

Bright pink with

a precipitate to
start. Became
darker.

HCl would cancel

out the NaOH, so it
will become clear
and acidic.

No. HCl removed

NaOH, but that
caused the reaction
to produce even
more NaOH, which
made the reaction
basic.

B2

Bright pink with

a precipitate to
start. Became
thicker and
cloudier.

The reaction will

shift to the right
because EDTA
removes Mg from
the products side.

Yes, the reaction

shifted right to
compensate for the
loss of Mg.

B3
(hot)

Bright pink with

a precipitate.
Became lighter
in color and lost
its precipitate.

Will become lighter

and more acidic.

Yes, the solution

became lighter and
more acidic. This
suggests that heat is
a product and the
reaction is
exothermic. When
heat was added, it
shifted the
equilibrium left and
became more acidic.

B4
(cold)

Bright pink with

a precipitate.
Turned darker
and lost the

Will become darker

and more basic.

Yes, the solution

became darker and
basic. When heat was
removed from the

precipitate.

products side, it
shifted the reaction
left.

C1

Blue, became
pink with the
addition of
water, then
back to blue
with HCl, and
then became a
cloudy gray
color that
eventually
settled into pink
when silver
nitrate was
added.

Will shift right, then

left, then right
again with the
addition of each
ingredient.

Yes, the water made

the solution more
acidic by adding
hydrogen ions. The
addition of HCl made
it more basic because
it removed the basic
ions, so the
equilibrium shifted to
compensate. When
silver nitrate was
added, silver bound
with chlorine to make
the reaction more
acidic.

C2
(hot)

Blue, the got a

dark pink color
and back to
blue.

Will become lighter

with the addition of
heat.

No. Heat is a product

and the reaction is
exothermic, so when
heat was added, the
end result was that
the solution was blue.
Equilibrium shifted
left.

C3
(cold)

Blue, turned
pink, and then
light pink.

Will become darker

with the removal of
heat.

No. Because heat is a

product, when it was
removed the reaction
shifted right to
compensate.

Write the net ionic equations as appropriate. This is especially relevant to

the equilibria involving the slightly soluble salt and complex ion where
reagents were added that were not in the equilibria reactions written in
this manual.

HSO4-(aq) + H2O SO42-(aq) + H3O+(aq)

Adding Na2SO4 caused more reactants to be produced, which caused the

reaction to shift backwards. When NaHSO4 was added, it caused the reaction
to shift to the right and become more basic. When crystals of Na2SO4 was
added, the reaction became more acidic and shifted to the right to
compensate for the addition. When heat was added, the reaction shifted left
and became basic, so heat is a product and the reaction is exothermic. When
heat was removed, the reaction shifted right and became acidic, which
confirms the results from the hot solution.

Mg(OH)2(s) Mg2+ + 2OH- (aq)

When HCl was added, it removed some NaOH. However, this caused the
reaction to produce even more NaOH after the reaction shifted right, so it
became more basic. EDTA removed the Mg ions from the solution, which
shifted the reaction right to become more basic. When heat was added, it
shifted the reaction left to become acidic. This suggests that heat is a
product and is exothermic. The cold solution verifies this by removing heat
and shifting the reaction right to become more basic.

(CoCl4)2-(alc) + 6H2O [Co(H2O)6]2+(aq) + 4Cl-(aq)

When H2O was added, the reaction shifted right and became more acidic. HCl
pushed the reaction left and became basic because it prompted the creation
of more OH- ions. When silver nitrate was added, the silver removed chlorine
and pushed the reaction right again to make it acidic. When heat was added,
the solution stayed blue. When heat was removed, the reaction became light
pink and acidic. This suggests that heat is a product and the reaction is
exothermic.

In lecture, Le Chteliers principle was described in terms of

adding/removing reactants or products. While it is conceptually easy to
add reactants/products, clearly describe how you were able to remove
reactants/products from the equilibria using the procedures in this
experiment.

When a compound was added or removed, the equilibrium moved a certain

direction. The equilibrium moves by pushing a reaction left or right. If a
reaction pushes left, products are decomposed to break into several
molecules. If the reaction pushes right, several reactants form a single
product. We can apply this to system 1, for example. When NaHSO4 was
added to Na2SO4, the reaction shifted right. By doing so, NaHSO4 was broken
into other molecules.

CONCLUSIONS
Le Chteliers principle proved to be true from the results of this
experiment. When a reactant or product was added or removed from the
system, the equilibrium shifted to compensate for it. Almost all reactions
went as expected, the only three being the hot and cold solutions in part 3,
and the addition of HCl in B1. The addition of HCl presented a risk of error
because adding too much would eliminate NaOH completely and make an
acidic reaction. Too little would not be detectable, so a precise drop count is
key for a correct interpretation of the reaction. However, passing that drop
count was very easy, as adding a small enough volume of HCl would yield no
sign that the reaction was happening. In future experiments it might helpful
for students to practice with a reaction that does not act so sensitively to
volumes.