Carbon monoxide poisoning & Le chatier’s principal discussion
Paper details:
When someone is exposed to carbon monoxide gas, a frightening variation on the normal hemoglobin oxygen interaction occurs. Carbon monoxide “fools” hemoglobin in groups of four and the equilibrium expression thus becomes : Hb (aq) + 4CO (g) === Hb(CO) 4 (aq). Instead of hemoglobin, what has been added produced is called carb oxyhemoglobin, which is even redder than hemoglobin. Therefore, one sign of carbon monoxide poisoning is a flushed face.
Carbon monoxide in small quantities can cause headaches and dizziness but larger concentrations can be fatal. Also, the bonds between carbon monoxide and hemoglobin are about 300 times as strong as those between hemoglobin and oxygen.
1. Explain how this is connected to equilibrium and Le chatiler’s principal.
2. Would K (equilibrium constant) hemoglobin-carbon monoxide reaction be higher or lower than for the hemoglobin-oxygen reaction?
3. How to chemically reverse the effects of the carbon monoxide? Wricgote an equation to explain.
