Effect of Temperature of Equilibrium

If you change TEMPERATURE, the direction that the equilibrium shifts depends on whether the forward reaction is EXOTHERMIC or ENDOTHERMIC.

ENDOTHERMIC reactions show a DECREASE in temperature, while EXOTHERMIC reactions show an INCREASE in temperature. 

This means that if you INCREASE the temperature of a system at equilibrium, it will try to COUNTERACT the change by DECREASING the temperature, so it will shift to the ENDOTHERMIC side of the reaction. The opposite will happen if you DECREASE the temperature.

This shifting of equilibrium can affect the amount of reactants and products in the system.

For an example where the FORWARD reaction is EXOTHERMIC:

If the FORWARD reaction is ENDOTHERMIC, the opposite would happen: