I don't understand why pressure changes the position of equilibrium in a reaction?

When thinking of pressure I like to think of two boxes joined together with the reactants in one and products in the other. When you make the boxes smaller (increase the pressure) the items in the box with more will start to be pushed into the box with less to reduce the amount of space in the one box. This is similar to a reaction!

N2(g) + 3H2(g) <-> 2NH3(g)(would be best written on the whiteboard for super/subscripts)

As we increase the pressure we will see the reactants 'move to the box of products' because there are more molecules on the side of reactants. They move to make more space by becoming products!

Now think of 2NO2(g) <-> N2O4 (g) what do you think would happen if we DECREASE the pressure?

HW
Answered by Heather W. Chemistry tutor

3304 Views

See similar Chemistry GCSE tutors

Related Chemistry GCSE answers

All answers ▸

0.0960g of Magnesium was reacted with 25cm^3 of HCL of 0.4mol/dm^3 concentration. Calculate the moles of each one and determine which one is in excess


How can I check if my reaction equations are correct?


Explain why chlorine is more reactive than iodine.


Describe the structure of the periodic table


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning