Chemical equilibrium is a stable relationship between reactants and products in a reversible reaction. The rate of a reaction is affected by temperature, phase, and catalysts. Chemical bonds form new substances with unique properties. All reactions are reversible to some extent, but some have a non-negligible degree of reversibility. The rate at which equilibrium is reached varies. Temperature, phase, and catalysts affect the rate. Some reactions require activation energy.
Chemical equilibrium refers to a stable relationship between reactants and products in a reversible chemical reaction. In a reversible reaction, the reactants do not completely transform into products; rather, they will slowly stop reacting when chemical equilibrium is reached. The rate of a reaction is affected by many factors, including temperature, the phase of the matter, and the presence of a catalyst. Many reactions require an initial input of energy to start reacting.
More fundamentally, a chemical reaction is the making or breaking of chemical bonds. A chemical bond occurs when electromagnetic forces between atoms or molecules cause an attraction between them. An ionic bond occurs when two ions, oppositely charged atoms, directly attract each other. A covalent bond involves the sharing of pairs of electrons between atoms. These chemical bonds form new substances with their own chemical properties.
The concept of chemical equilibrium is related to the idea of a reversible reaction. In fact, all chemical reactions are reversible to some extent, so there is no fundamental difference between reactants and products. Some reactions, however, have a non-negligible degree of reversibility: it is in these reactions that chemical equilibrium becomes important. When reversibility is emphasized in scientific notation, the original arrow between reactants and products is replaced by a pair of hooked arrows. These indicate that the reaction goes in both directions.
The rate at which chemical equilibrium is reached can vary enormously. Some reactions are complete in less than a second, while others take many years. While there is no single method for predicting a reaction rate, many factors are known to play important roles.
One such factor is temperature. Higher temperatures allow more energy to enter a system, which typically results in faster reactions. The phase of matter—solid, liquid, or gas—can also affect how quickly substances reach chemical equilibrium. Finally, the presence of a catalyst can greatly speed up a reaction. An enzyme is a type of catalyst that is important in regulating the metabolism of living things.
Some reactions do not occur even if they are not at chemical equilibrium. This is because many reactions require activation energy. For example, liquid hydrogen and oxygen can remain in physical contact without reacting. A small amount of energy, however, can basically cause reactants to explode and release a large amount of energy. The same phenomenon occurs when burning wood: although wood can release a lot of energy when burned, an initial spark or flame is always needed to start the process.
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