7.6 Properties of the Equilibrium Constant

Properties of the Equilibrium Constant

The following properties are related to the mathematical way in which ${K}$ is found, and can be derived by using the equation for ${K}$. When a reaction is reversed (i.e. products are now on the left and reactants are now on the right), the new equilibrium constant is inverted, or you take 1 over the original equilibrium constant (${K^{-}1}$). When the coefficients are multiplied by a certain constant c, the new equilibrium constant will be ${K_c}$. When adding multiple reactions with equilibrium constants of ${K_1}$ and ${K_2}$, the resulting equilibrium constant will be the product of the two (${K1*K2}$).

Note that since Q and K are mathematically equivalent, everything math related that applies to the equilibrium constant will also be the same for the reaction quotient.