Can someone explain to me why the equilibrium below will shift to the left if we add pressure (at constant temperature)?
Hg(s) <----> Hg(g)
At first, I thought there would be no change since the direction should go to where there are less moles of gas.
Hg
(s) <----------> Hg
(g)0 moles of gas <--->1 mole of gas
There are less moles of gas on the left, so the equilibrium will shift to the left. If you increase the pressure, the system will try and reduce it (Le Chatelier's Principle). Hope that helps.