Grade 12 Chemistry · Kp meets Kc
Where (RT)^Δn comes from
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Where (RT)^Δn comes from

Gases can be counted two ways: by concentration in mol/L, or by the pressure they push with. The ideal gas law joins them in one line. Start from PV=nRTPV = nRT, divide both sides by VV, and nV\dfrac{n}{V} is exactly a concentration — so P=cRTP = cRT. Every gas concentration becomes a pressure by ONE factor of RTRT.

Now build KK from pressures instead of concentrations. Each species drags its own factor of RTRT upstairs or downstairs, and what survives is the NET count: Kp=Kc(RT)ΔnK_p = K_c (RT)^{\Delta n}, read aloud K-p equals K-c times R T to the delta-n. KpK_p is the constant built from partial pressures in atmospheres, KcK_c the one built from concentrations in mol/L, TT the absolute temperature in kelvin, and RR here is 0.0821 Latm/(molK)0.0821\ \mathrm{L \cdot atm/(mol \cdot K)} — the pressure-flavoured R, not the 8.314 J/(molK)8.314\ \mathrm{J/(mol \cdot K)} you use for energy.

Δn\Delta n — say delta-n — is the change in moles of GAS: moles of gaseous product minus moles of gaseous reactant, read straight off the balanced equation. Solids and liquids have no partial pressure, so they never appear in the count; CaCO3(s)CaO(s)+CO2(g)\mathrm{CaCO_3(s)} \rightleftharpoons \mathrm{CaO(s)} + \mathrm{CO_2(g)} has Δn=+1\Delta n = +1, not zero. And when Δn=0\Delta n = 0 the whole factor collapses to 1: Kp=KcK_p = K_c, exactly, at every temperature. Free marks, if you look first.