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Home > Curriculum Support > High School / Senior High > Chemistry 3rd Edition > Why does the amount of CaCO3 change in On Your Own 15.10a? I thought changes in solids did not affect an equilibrium.
Why does the amount of CaCO3 change in On Your Own 15.10a? I thought changes in solids did not affect an equilibrium.
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When you CHANGE THE AMOUNT of a solid, that does not affect the equilibrium. However, you are not changing the amount of CaCO3. You are changing the temperature, and that DOES affect the reaction. The effect is to shift it to the products, so CaCO3 gets used up.

 

If you asked what would be the change in CO2 if the amount of CaCO3 was increased, the answer would be no change, because changing a solid does not affect the position of the equilibrium. However, an increase in CO2 will increase the amount of CaCO3, because an increase in CO2 will shift the react to the reactants.

 

In other words, solids CAN BE AFFECTED (as can water in aqueous reactions) by changes in other aspects of an equilibrium. However, if you change the amount of solid (or water in an aqueous reaction), that cannot affect the other aspects of the equilibrium.

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