Q.For a given reaction at a particular temperature, the equilibrium constant has a constant value. Is the value of Q also constant? Explain.

Knowing $K_C$ tells us where equilibrium lies, but a real reaction mixture is not always sitting there already. The reaction quotient, Q, is defined with exactly the same algebraic form as $K_C$ -- for $xA+yB\rightleftharpoons lC+mD$, $Q=\dfrac{[C]^l[D]^m}{[A]^x[B]^y}$ -- but evaluated using whatever concentrations happen to be present at a given instant, which need not be the equilibrium concentrations at all.

As a reaction proceeds, the concentrations of reactants and products keep changing, so Q keeps changing continuously too -- right up until the system reaches equilibrium, at which point Q becomes numerically equal to $K_C$ and (since concentrations then stop changing) stops changing itself. Comparing the current value of Q against the fixed value of $K_C$ therefore predicts, unambiguously, which direction the system still has to move:

• $Q=K_C$: the system is already at equilibrium -- no further net change.
• $Q>K_C$: too much product is present relative to equilibrium, so the reaction proceeds in reverse (toward reactants) until Q falls back down to $K_C$.
• $Q<K_C$: too little product is present relative to equilibrium, so the reaction proceeds forward (toward products) until Q rises up to $K_C$.

For example, with $H_2(g)+I_2(g)\rightleftharpoons2HI(g)$, $K_C=48$: at an instant where $[H_2]=[I_2]=0.2$ M and $[HI]=0.6$ M, $Q=\dfrac{0.6^2}{0.2\times0.2}=9$; since $Q<K_C$, the reaction still has to run forward. This same Q-vs-K comparison is the general tool for any 'which direction will it proceed' question -- whether from bare concentrations (as above), from partial pressures and $K_P$ (the water-gas shift reaction, or the oxidation of NO), or from a mixture described only by relative molecule counts (as in a molecular-scene diagram, where Q is built directly from how many product versus reactant molecules the scene shows). It is worth noting explicitly that Q is never a fixed number the way $K_C$ is -- Q is a snapshot that changes with the composition of the mixture, while $K_C$ is fixed by temperature alone.