- Gibbs free energy tells us if a reaction can happen spontaneously.
- The equilibrium constant tells us the balance between products and reactants when the reaction settles down.
- If Gibbs free energy is negative, the reaction favors products, and the equilibrium constant is greater than 1.
- If Gibbs free energy is positive, the reaction favors reactants, and the equilibrium constant is less than 1.
- If Gibbs free energy is zero, the reaction is perfectly balanced, and the equilibrium constant is around 1.
Basically, the more a reaction “wants” to happen (more negative Gibbs energy), the more products you get at equilibrium.