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Equilibrium is busy, not stopped
CHEM-4 Reactions have a speed and a balance pointX-3 Look from another side
What many people think
At equilibrium the reaction has stopped.
The idea
At equilibrium the forward and backward reactions run at the same rate, so amounts stay constant while particles keep changing.
Explain it
A friend says: “At equilibrium nothing is happening any more.” Use the tagged particles and the two event counts to explain why that is wrong.
Try at home
Fill one glass with water and leave a second empty. Each round, move water from glass 1 to glass 2 with a wide straw (finger over the top) while a helper moves water back with a thin straw. After a dozen rounds the levels stop changing, yet water still moves both ways every round.