Chemical Equilibrium (Noun)
Meaning
A chemical reaction and its reverse proceed at equal rates.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural processes.
Examples
- The reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to form water is an example of a system that can reach chemical equilibrium.
- In a closed system, a chemical reaction and its reverse will eventually reach chemical equilibrium, where the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal.
- The concept of chemical equilibrium is crucial in understanding many biological processes, such as the binding of oxygen to hemoglobin in the blood.
- The equilibrium constant of a reaction is a measure of the ratio of the concentrations of the products to the concentrations of the reactants at chemical equilibrium.
- When a system is at chemical equilibrium, the concentrations of the reactants and products remain constant over time, even though the forward and reverse reactions are still occurring.