Chemical Equilibria –

Kp
 Equilibria
Topics
• Dynamic Equilibrium
• Kc
• Kp
• Le Chatelier’s Principle
 Equilibria
Equilibrium Constant, Kp
• For reactions involving mixtures of gases, it is usually easier to
measure pressures of gases rather than concentrations.
• If the partial pressure of each gas in the mixture is known, then an
equilibrium constant, Kp can be expressed in terms of partial
pressures
• For the reaction aA (g) + bB (g) cC (g) + dD (g)

( pC) c ( pD)d
Kp 
( pA)a ( pB) b
• where pA is the partial pressure of species A in Pa or atm
• a, b, c, and d are the numbers of moles in the stoichiometric
equation of A, B, C, and D
• p in Kp refers to the equilibrium constant in terms of pressures
 Equilibria
Equilibrium Constant, Kp
• E.g. for the gaseous reaction
H2 (g) + I2 (g) 2HI (g)
( pHI)2
Kp 
( pH2 )( pI2 )

• E.g. for the gaseous reaction

N2 (g) + 3H2 (g) 2NH3 (g)

( pNH3 ) 2
Kp 
( pN 2 )( pH 2 )3
 Equilibria
Mole Fractions & Partial Pressures
• The mole fraction of a gas in the mixture can be used to determine
its partial pressure
• The mole fraction of a gas in a mixture is the fraction of that
particular gas in the mixture expressed in moles
number of moles of a particular gas
mole fraction 
total number of moles of gases in the mixture

• The partial pressure of a gas in a mixture is the pressure that the

gas would exert if it alone occupied the space containing the
mixture
partial pressure  total pressure mole fraction
 Equilibria
Worked Examples Kp – #1
Calculating Kp from Equilibrium Moles of Gas:

Sulphur dioxide reacts with oxygen to form sulphur trioxide:

2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) ` 2SO3 (g)
At equilibrium, the mixture contains 12.5 mol SO2, 87.5 mol O2 and 100
mol SO3. The total pressure of the mixture is 1.6 x 107 Pa. Calculate Kp.

Solution:
 Step 1: Use mole fractions to calculate the partial pressures at
equilibrium
 Step 2: Use the equilibrium expression to calculate Kp
 Equilibria
Worked Examples Kp – #1
2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) ` 2SO3 (g)

Equil moles 12. 5 mol 87.5 mol 100 mol

12.5 87.5 100
Equil partial pressures 1.6  107  1.6  107  1.6  107 
200 200 200
 1.0  106 Pa  7.0  106 Pa  8.0  106 Pa

p(SO3 )2
Kp 
p(SO2 )2 p(O2 ) Note: Use mole
fractions to calculate
(8.0 106 Pa) 2
 partial pressures.
(1.0 106 Pa)2  (7.0 106 Pa) 200 is the total
 9.110 6 Pa 1 # of moles of gas:
(12.5 + 87.5 + 100)
 Equilibria
Worked Examples Kp – #2
• Calculating Kp from Initial Moles of Gas and the Equilibrium Moles of
the Product:

2 mol of nitrogen and 6 mol of hydrogen are mixed and allowed to

reach equilibrium at 680 C and 2 x 107 Pa pressure. At equilibrium, the
mixture contains 3 mol of ammonia. Calculate Kp.

Solution:
 Step 1: Write the balanced/stoichiometric equation for the reaction.
 Step 2: Calculate the moles at equilibrium
 Step 3: Use mole fractions to calculate the partial pressures at
equilibrium
 Step 4: Use the equilibrium expression to calculate Kp
 Equilibria
Worked Examples Kp – #2
N2 (g) + 3H2 (g) ` 2NH3 (g)
Initial 2 mol 6 mol 0 mol
1 3
Change - (3) mol - (3) mol  3 mol
2 2
 -1.5 mol  -4.5 mol
Equil moles 0. 5 mol 1.5 mol 3 mol
0.5 1.5 3
Equil p 2  107  2  107  2  107 
5 5 5
 0.2  107 Pa  0.6  107 Pa  1.2  107 Pa
p(NH3 )2
Kp 
p(H2 ) p(H2 )3
(1.2  107 Pa) 2

(0.2  107 Pa) (0.6  107 Pa)3
 3.3 10 13 Pa  2