Equilibrium constants depend on which aspect of the reaction?

Equilibrium constants depend on which aspect of the reaction?

• A. The identity of the catalyst
• B. The temperature
• C. The solvent
• D. The reaction's coefficients

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that the equilibrium constant is built from the balanced equation, with each species raised to a power equal to its coefficient. That stoichiometric relationship fixes the form of K, so the reaction’s coefficients determine what K looks like. The catalyst only speeds up how fast equilibrium is reached and doesn’t change K, while the solvent and other conditions can affect activities but don’t define the expression itself. (In practice, the actual value of K does depend on temperature, but the way it’s written—its exponents—comes from the coefficients.)

The key idea is that the equilibrium constant is built from the balanced equation, with each species raised to a power equal to its coefficient. That stoichiometric relationship fixes the form of K, so the reaction’s coefficients determine what K looks like. The catalyst only speeds up how fast equilibrium is reached and doesn’t change K, while the solvent and other conditions can affect activities but don’t define the expression itself. (In practice, the actual value of K does depend on temperature, but the way it’s written—its exponents—comes from the coefficients.)