Measuring K with Beer’s Law and Color

The equilibrium constant, K, can be measured by tracking color in a chemical equilibrium. For a system with one colored species, spectrophotometry is used to relate absorbance to concentration. The colored component can then be measured directly, while the colorless components are found from the balanced chemical equation.

Determining the equilibrium constant of a chemical reaction can provide important information about the extent to which it will form products over time.

Every chemical reaction is associated with an equilibrium constant, K, which reflects the ratio of the concentrations of the products and reactants when the reaction has stopped progressin...