A reaction that is spontaneous as written ________.

Question

A.) is very rapid

B.) is very slow

C.) has an equilibrium position that lies far to the left

D.) will proceed without outside intervention

E.) is also spontaneous in the reverse direction

Answer 1

yes can be fast or slow. no to C this would be reactant favored and nonspontaneous. It COULD be spontaneous in reverse but it could be unidirectional only. No to E. "Best answer" is D. is proceeds w/o intervention

D

Answer 2

This is a very confusing question but that is not your fault.

In ordinary language, we say something is spontaneous if it actually readily happens.  In thermodynamics, for reasons that I do not understand, textbooks use the word "spontaneous" to mean something that is thermodynamically allowed to happen.  The fact that it is possible for it to happen doesn't mean that it always will happen, otherwise we would have forest fires all the time.

As to how far the reaction can go, we need more information.

So I think that (D) is the official answer, but it is really a lousy question. It will proceed without outside intervention, if it is going to proceed at all.  The reverse reaction would require outside intervention, meaning you would have to put in work.

Answer 3

D.

A spontaneous reaction can be either fast or slow. The equilibrium would be far to the right, and the reverse is usually not spontaneous.