Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Chemical Equilibrium
Chemical equilibrium occurs when the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal, resulting in constant concentrations of reactants and products. In this context, the decomposition of SO2Cl2 into SO2 and Cl2 reaches a state where the amounts of each species remain unchanged over time, allowing for the calculation of the equilibrium constant, Kc.
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Equilibrium Constant (Kc)
The equilibrium constant, Kc, quantifies the ratio of the concentrations of products to reactants at equilibrium, raised to the power of their stoichiometric coefficients. For the reaction SO2Cl2 ⇌ SO2 + Cl2, Kc is calculated using the formula Kc = [SO2][Cl2] / [SO2Cl2], where the brackets denote molarity. This constant provides insight into the extent of the reaction and the favorability of product formation.
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Molarity and Concentration Calculations
Molarity is defined as the number of moles of solute per liter of solution, expressed as M = moles/volume. In this problem, the initial concentration of SO2Cl2 is determined by dividing the moles (2.00 mol) by the volume of the flask (2.00 L), which is essential for calculating the equilibrium concentrations after accounting for the decomposition of the reactant.
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