The Size of K

What does the size of K_eq tell us? Remember that K is just the numerical value you get when you divide the concentrations of all the products by the concentrations of all the reactants, when everything is at equilibrium. Symbolically, K is just a fraction, which we could represent like this:

Because this is a fraction, it will behave exactly like a fraction does when you change the size of the numerator and denominator.

Summary

The size of K depends on the relative concentrations of reactants and products. The more a reaction tends to produce products, the greater the value of K.

When the concentration of reactants and products are similar at equilibrium, K will be approximately equal () to 1
When the concentration of products is greater than (>) the reactants, K will be >1 (greater than 1)
When the concentration of products is much greater than (>>) the reactants, K will be >> 1 (much greater than 1)
When the concentration of products is less than (<) the reactants, K will be < 1 (less than 1)
When the concentration of products is much less than (<<) the reactants, K will be << 1 (much less than 1)

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The only factor that can change the size of the equilibrium constant is the temperature. How does temperature change the size of K?

The Size of K

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Summary