Shifting starting position to simplify calculations Info
Go to ActivityDescription
Quantitative calculations on chemical equilibrium systems often lead to rather tedious algebra involving cubic or high-order polynomial equations. Since all possible states of a chemical reaction (e.g., values of Q) lie along a continuum, we can simplify the algebra by first reasoning about the progress of reaction. This technique is even more powerful when combined with large K or small K assumptions covered in the next section.
| Resource Type | Tutorial ChemCollective tutorials walk students through solving chemistry problems movies, text, and interactive tutors. Because the hints given by these tutors ultimately provide the solution to the problem, they are similar to worked examples in a textbook. Currently, we have tutorials covering concepts in stoichiometry, buffers, and equilibrium. |
|---|---|
| Topic(s) |
|
| Subtopic(s) |
|
| Difficulty | Introductory |
| Publication Date | 2010-01-29 |