Question

In an esterification reaction How many moles of ester are produced
at equilibrium when 1 mole of acetic acid and 3 moles of ethanol are reacted together? (kc = 4.0]​

Answer 1

Answer:

Let initially, 1 mole of ethanol and 1 mole of acetic acid is present.

Let x moles of ethanol reacts with x moles of acetic acid to reach equilibrium.

Ethanol

Acetic acid

Ethyl acetate

Water

Equilibrium number of moles

1−x 1−x

x

x

The total number of moles =1−x+1−x+x+x=2

The mole fraction of water at equilibrium is

2

x

=0.333

Hence, x=0.666 and 1−x=0.334

The equilibrium constant expression is

K=

[ethanol][acetic acid]

[Ethyl acetate[Water]]

K=

0.334×0.334

0.666×0.666

K=4