How would you explain Le Chatelier's principle?

1 Answer
Jul 25, 2016

How would I explain it? Well, I hope to do so correctly.

Explanation:

If an equilibrium is subjected to an external perturbation, the equilibrium will move so as to offset the external perturbation.

The important point to note here is that offset is not equivalent to counteract. Certainly with temperature changes, the equilibrium may be subject to change with respect to the equilibrium constant. We speak of the initial change, the first response, of the equilibrium mixture.