weezby
New Member
umm..Originally posted by Giant Lobster
I dont get it
why don't solids affect equilibria?
consider saturated NaCl
so NaCl(s) <=> Na + Cl
but NaCl(s) does not participate in teh equilibrium, so the LHS is empty hmmm I guess its possible, but it just doesnt seem right in a chem reaction to have one whole side as void.
For slightly soluble salts, we have the equilibrium of a solid salt with its ions in solution. Since the concentration of a pure substance in the solid (or liquid) phase remains constant, the equilibrium constant expression may be simplified to a form called the solubility product law. The solubility product law states that in a saturated solution of a slightly soluble salt, the product of molar concentrations of its ions in its saturated solution is a constant, the solubility product constant or K_sp.
AB(s) <=> A+ (aq) + B- (aq)
Ksp = [A+][B- ]
For NaCl, its K_sp is very large..
i.e. most of the NaCl(s) dissociates.. amount of NaCl(s) is negligible..