law of chemical equilibrium
- noun
- Specialized
:
ley de equilibrio químico
- According to the law of chemical equilibrium, the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are balanced at equilibrium.
Examples
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The law of chemical equilibrium explains why the concentrations of reactants and products remain constant in a closed system.
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Every chemistry student must understand how the law of chemical equilibrium governs reversible reactions.
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The law of chemical equilibrium governs how reactions proceed.
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According to the law of chemical equilibrium, concentrations remain constant.
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According to the law of chemical equilibrium, the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are balanced at equilibrium.
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Every chemistry student must understand how the law of chemical equilibrium governs reversible reactions.
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The law of chemical equilibrium explains why the concentrations of reactants and products remain constant in a closed system.
Synonyms
A chemistry rule that the forward and backward reaction speeds have a fixed ratio at equilibrium
Surface Forms
Morphology
law + of + chemical + equilibrium
The phrase follows a fully compositional pattern 'law of X' so a learner who knows 'law', 'chemical', and 'equilibrium' will understand it denotes a scientific principle concerning chemical equilibrium. While the precise technical formulation (ratios of forward/reverse reaction rates) is specialist knowledge, the core meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and cross-linguistically transparent.
Etymology
Law of chemical equilibrium can be pictured as a busy door where people go in and out at the same speed: there is movement both ways, but the number of people inside stays the same. The 'law' means a rule and 'equilibrium' means balance, so the forward and reverse moves in a chemical reaction happen at steady rates and the amounts of reactants and products stay constant.
