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What is chemical equilibrium? - George Zaidan and Charles Morton

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When molecules collide, chemical reactions can occur -- causing major structural changes akin to getting a new arm on your face! George Zaidan and Charles Morton playfully imagine chemical systems as busy city streets, and the colliding molecules within them as your average, limb-swapping joes.

Look at the first four collisions in the video. In collision A, two people bump into each other. In collision B, two molecules (the large one is ethene, the small one is hydrogen) bump into each other. In collision C, the same two people bump into each other; and in collision D, the same two molecules bump into each other. In collisions A and B, no reaction happens. In collisions C and D, reactions do happen. Look closely at the four collisions and give two reasons why reactions happen in cases C and D but not in cases A and B.

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