a) If a saturated solution of sodium nitrate, NaNO3, is prepared, the following equilibrium exists: NaNO_3 (s) Leftrightharpoons Na+ (aq) + NO_3^- (aq) If nitric acid is added to the saturated solutio

a) Nitric acid is an electrolyte and will dissociate into H+ and NO3- ions in solution. Adding nitric acid will increase the concentration of NO3- ions in solution, which will shift the equilibrium towards the left in order to balance the increase in NO3- concentration. This will result in some of the NaNO3 (s) precipitating out of solution. b) Increasing the temperature or adding a heat source will cause more NaNO3(s) to dissolve because the dissolution process is endothermic. This means that adding heat will increase the energy of the system, making it easier for the solid NaNO3 to break apart and dissolve in the solvent. c) Two ways to increase the equilibrium yield of SO3 are: 1. Increasing the pressure of the reactants by decreasing the volume of the container. This will drive the equilibrium towards the side with fewer gas molecules, which in this case is the product side with 2 moles of SO3. 2. Adding a catalyst such as V2O5 to the reaction. A catalyst speeds up the rate of the reaction, which can help push the equilibrium towards the product side by allowing more reactant molecules to convert into product molecules before reaching equilibrium.