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Equality of forward and backward reaction rates, however, is a necessary condition for chemical equilibrium, though it is not sufficient to explain why equilibrium occurs. Despite the limitations of this derivation, the equilibrium constant for a reaction is indeed a constant, independent of the activities of the various species involved ...
Biological processes are those processes that are necessary for an organism to live and that shape its capacities for interacting with its environment. Biological processes are made of many chemical reactions or other events that are involved in the persistence and transformation of life forms. [1]
where k f is the rate constant for the forward reaction and k b is the rate constant for the backward reaction and the square brackets, […], denote concentration. If only A is present at the beginning, time t = 0 , with a concentration [A] 0 , the sum of the two concentrations, [A] t and [B] t , at time t , will be equal to [A] 0 .
Guldberg and Waage also recognized that chemical equilibrium is a dynamic process in which rates of reaction for the forward and backward reactions must be equal at chemical equilibrium. In order to derive the expression of the equilibrium constant appealing to kinetics, the expression of the rate equation must be used.
The forward and reverse reactions are competing with each other and differ in reaction rates. These rates depend on the concentration and therefore change with the time of the reaction: the reverse rate gradually increases and becomes equal to the rate of the forward reaction, establishing the so-called chemical equilibrium.
A and B can react to form C and D or, in the reverse reaction, C and D can react to form A and B. This is distinct from a reversible process in thermodynamics. Weak acids and bases undergo reversible reactions. For example, carbonic acid: H 2 CO 3 (l) + H 2 O (l) ⇌ HCO 3 − (aq) + H 3 O + (aq).
Chemical equilibrium is a dynamic state in which forward and backward reactions proceed at such rates that the macroscopic composition of the mixture is constant. Thus, equilibrium sign ⇌ symbolizes the fact that reactions occur in both forward ⇀ {\displaystyle \rightharpoonup } and backward ↽ {\displaystyle \leftharpoondown } directions.
In chemistry, J. H. van't Hoff (1884) [4] came up with the idea that equilibrium has dynamical nature and is a result of the balance between the forward and backward reaction rates. He did not study reaction mechanisms with many elementary reactions and could not formulate the principle of detailed balance for complex reactions.