Le Chatelier’s Principle

Le Chatelier’s principle states that:

The position of the equilibrium of a system changes to minimise the effect of any imposed change in conditions.

This means:

  • Increasing the temperature favours the endothermic reaction
  • Increasing the pressure in a gaseous reaction favours the side of the reaction which has the fewest number of gaseous molecules, because this will reduce the pressure.
  • However adding a catalyst does not affect the position of the equilibrium.

This video explains how Le Chatelier's principle works

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