What is le Chatelier's principle?

Le Chatelier's principle states that a reaction at equilibrium will shift it's position of equilibrium in order to oppose any changes to it's environment.

So if your reaction is exothermic, and you cool your reaction down, it will shift it's position of equilibrium more towards the products to warm it back up again, and vice versa for an endothermic reaction.

Likewise, if your reaction produces a gas, and therefore raises the pressure of the reaction vessel, if you decrease the pressure in your reaction vessel, the reaction will shift more towards the reactants to bring the pressure back up.

CM
Answered by Chris M. Chemistry tutor

3437 Views

See similar Chemistry A Level tutors

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

Part 2: from the empirical formula, calculate the molecular formula if the molecular weight of the substance is 180 g/mol


Describe and explain the trend in boiling points in the first four hydrogen halides


I am struggling to with unseen organic chemistry mechanism. I don’t know where to begin drawing them.


How can you tell if a reaction is endothermic or exothermic? Describe a way of determining if a reaction is exothermic or endothermic using simple laboratory equipment.


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:

© 2025 by IXL Learning