Summary:
- reversible reaction is a reaction in which conversion of reactants to products and the conversion of products to reactants occur simultaneously.
- A great many chemical reactions do not proceed entirely to completion.
- The reaction of hydrogen gas and iodine vapor to from hydrogen iodide is an example of a reversible reaction.
- The forward and reverse reactions can be written as follows.
- In the forward reaction, hydrogen and iodine combine to form hydrogen iodides.
- The reverse reaction decomposes back into hydrogen and I2.
- When the rates of the forward andreverse reactions have become equal to one another, the reaction has achieved a state of balance.