C = C’ – r, A Silver Bullet for Evaluation of Components in Simple Equilibrium Reactions: The Relation Revisited

Phase rule is an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum in many universities across the globe. In an appreciable number of universities, it is dealt with in the freshman year. The students find it extremely confusing to find the number of components even in simple equilibrium reactions. Normally they end up giving wrong answers, or if at all they give correct answers, they are just conjectures. To overcome this overwhelming confusion we have first considered different simple and relatively uncomplicated equilibriums from standard physical chemistry books and research journals. In these different equilibriums first we evaluated the number of components as illustrated in the books. In each of the book, dissimilar methods were employed to evaluate the number of components which is not a straightforward task for the freshmen students. Then we presented an easy generic method which involved the use of the less involving relation C = C’ – r. Our endeavour in this article is to present a terse and lucid method, by means of which the number of components can be evaluated. Finally, one feels, after going through this article, that this convenient and handy relation C = C’ – r is undeniably a silver bullet for the evaluation of components in simple and relatively less complicated equilibriums.