Which equilibrium is homogeneous

Another heterogeneous equilibrium involves shaking copper with silver nitrate solution; this reaction involves solids and aqueous ions:. The equilibrium constant expression is written the same way as in previous examples, omitting the solid carbon term:. Both the copper on the left-hand side and the silver on the right are solids.

Both are left out of the equilibrium constant expression:. This equilibrium is only established if calcium carbonate is heated in a closed system, preventing carbon dioxide from escaping:. The only nonsolid species in this system is carbon dioxide, so it is the only term in the equilibrium constant expression:. Jim Clark Chemguide. This particular resource used the following sources:. Skip to main content. Acid-Base Equilibria. Search for:. Homogeneous versus Heterogeneous Solution Equilibria.

Learning Objective Describe the difference between homogeneous and heterogeneous solution equilibria. Homogeneous equilibrium is a state in which the reactants and products are in the same phase of matter. Usually, the reactants and products are in a single solution. We call this type of reaction mixture as a homogeneous mixture. The chemical species that are in this mixture can be molecules, ions, or a combination of molecules and ions. Furthermore, the expression for the equilibrium constant of this type of reaction include concentrations of all the reactants and products.

For example, mixing sulfur dioxide gas and oxygen gas gives sulfur trioxide gas, all reactants and products are in the gas phase. R- is the universal gas constant. T- is the temperature. The above relationship can also be written as:. Therefore, the equilibrium constant can also be written using the concentration of the system in the formula. This relationship can be derived through the following steps.

K P - is defined as the equilibrium constant that is calculated from the partial pressure of a reaction equation. The main difference between the two equilibrium constants is that they are used for the different concentrations. K P specifically represents equilibrium constant at partial pressure during a reaction. In terms of calculation, these values can be found from the reactant and products, using the formulae and using the specific values of those formulae.

A relationship between the two equilibrium constant has also been derived, which is given below:.