Potassium Thiocyanate Lab Report

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Through the experimentation of reactions between iron (III) nitrate and potassium thiocyanate, as well as cobalt (II) chloride hexahydrate in water, equilibrium systems disturbed by stress (changing the amount of reagents and temperature) will shift in order to minimize the stress. Therefore, if the concentration of reactant increases, the rate of the forward reaction will increase and equilibrium will reestablish when the concentration of products increase (vice versa). This can be observed through color changes of the solutions.
Equilibrium Constant Equations for Equilibrium System 1
Fe3+ + SCN- ⇌ FeSCN2+
Yellow Orange + Colorless ⇌ Blood Red Orange
Keq = [FeSCN2+] / [Fe3+][SCN-]

Table 1: Equilibrium System 1 Part A
Data Table studying the effects of concentration within a complex-ion equilibrium reaction between iron (III) nitrate and potassium thiocyanate.
Substance Added
Color of Substance
Resulting Color of Solution
Original - Potassium …show more content…

The original solution containing potassium thiocyanate is clear and colorless. However, when iron (III) nitrate or potassium thiocyanate is added to the solution, the overall color becomes darker and more concentrated to orange then to blood red. After a short time, the solution achieves equilibrium, but not at equal concentrations. By adding iron (III) nitrate or potassium thiocyanate, the amount of reagent increases, therefore the forward reaction increases in order to generate more product and increase the concentration of product. In the equilibrium constant equation, when increasing the amount of SCN-, the denominator increases, therefore Q < Keq. In order to reestablish equilibrium, concentration of products need to increase and the concentration of reactants have to decrease through the consummation of reactants and production of

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