What does a lower K value indicate about product and reactant concentrations?

A lower K value, which is the equilibrium constant for a given reaction, indicates that at equilibrium, the concentrations of reactants are greater than those of the products. This is because the equilibrium constant is defined as the ratio of the concentrations of products to reactants raised to the power of their coefficients in the balanced chemical equation.

When the K value is less than 1, it demonstrates that the numerator (products) is smaller than the denominator (reactants), meaning that at equilibrium, there are relatively more reactant molecules compared to product molecules. This situation occurs when the reaction favors the reactants rather than the formation of products.

The other choices do not accurately reflect the relationship between the K value and the concentrations of products and reactants. Therefore, a lower K value is directly related to a predominance of reactants in the equilibrium mixture.