Increasing the temperature of an exothermic reaction causes the equilibrium constant to increase and shifts the equilibrium toward products.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Increasing the temperature of an exothermic reaction will shift the equilibrium towards the reactants, not the products. This is due to Le Chatelier's principle, which states that a system at equilibrium will respond to any stress by shifting the equilibrium to counteract the stress. In an exothermic reaction, heat is a product. Therefore, increasing the temperature will be seen as a stress by the system, and it will try to counteract it by shifting the equilibrium to produce more reactants (and therefore, absorbing the excess heat).

Increasing the Temperature of an Exothermic Reaction Causes the Equilibrium