If the temperature of a mixture in which an endothermic reaction is occurring is increased, what happens to the amount of reactants present in the mixture?
A. Decreases
B. Increases
C. Stays the same
D. Not enough information given
A
An endothermic reaction requires an input of heat, lowering the temperature of the surroundings. Le Chatelier's principle states that a reaction will move to preserve the current conditions. Therefore, if the temperature of the surroundings rises, the reaction will move to lower the temperature. Since the reaction requires an input of heat to move in the forward direction, in this case the reaction will move from equilibrium in the forward direction. The amount of the reactants will therefore decrease.
