Consider the following reversible reaction:

[tex]\[ CO(g) + 2 H_2(g) \longleftrightarrow CH_3OH(g) \][/tex]

What is the equilibrium constant expression for the given system?

A. [tex]\[ K_{eq} = \frac{[CO][H_2]^2}{[CH_3OH]} \][/tex]
B. [tex]\[ K_{eq} = \frac{[CH_3OH]}{[CO][H_2]^2} \][/tex]
C. [tex]\[ K_{eq} = \frac{[CO][H_2]}{[CH_3OH]} \][/tex]
D. [tex]\[ K_{eq} = \frac{[CH_3OH]}{[CO][H_2]} \][/tex]



Answer :

To determine the equilibrium constant expression for the given reversible reaction:

[tex]\[ CO (g) + 2 H_2 (g) \longleftrightarrow CH_3OH (g) \][/tex]

we need to follow the general form for writing equilibrium constant expressions.

For a general reaction:
[tex]\[ aA + bB \longleftrightarrow cC + dD \][/tex]

the equilibrium constant expression [tex]\( K_{eq} \)[/tex] is given by:
[tex]\[ K_{eq} = \frac{[C]^c [D]^d}{[A]^a [B]^b} \][/tex]

where:
- [tex]\([C]\)[/tex] and [tex]\([D]\)[/tex] are the concentrations of the products,
- [tex]\([A]\)[/tex] and [tex]\([B]\)[/tex] are the concentrations of the reactants,
- [tex]\(c\)[/tex] and [tex]\(d\)[/tex] are the stoichiometric coefficients of the products,
- [tex]\(a\)[/tex] and [tex]\(b\)[/tex] are the stoichiometric coefficients of the reactants.

Applying this to the given reaction:

[tex]\[ CO (g) + 2 H_2 (g) \longleftrightarrow CH_3OH (g) \][/tex]

The reactants are [tex]\(CO\)[/tex] and [tex]\(H_2\)[/tex] with their stoichiometric coefficients being 1 and 2, respectively. The product is [tex]\(CH_3OH\)[/tex] with a stoichiometric coefficient of 1.

The equilibrium constant expression [tex]\( K_{eq} \)[/tex] for this reaction would be:
[tex]\[ K_{eq} = \frac{[CH_3OH]}{[CO][H_2]^2} \][/tex]

Thus, the correct equilibrium constant expression for the given system is:
[tex]\[ K_{eq} = \frac{\left[ CH_3OH \right]}{[ CO ][ H_2 ]^2} \][/tex]

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