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Reversible reactions and equilibria

Chemical reactions are reversible and may reach a . The direction of reversible reactions can be altered by changing the reaction conditions.

Reversible reactions

Many chemical reactions are reversible reactions. This means that the can be changed back into the original . This is not obvious when a reaction 'goes to completion', where very little or no reactants are left.

Examples of reactions that go to completion are:

  • of a fuel
  • many
  • in which a gas escapes

It is more obvious in reactions that do not go to completion that the reaction is reversible. This is the case when the reaction mixture contains both reactants and products.