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7: Thermochemistry

  • Page ID
    11730
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    • 7.1: Getting Started: Some Terminology
      Because energy takes many forms, only some of which can be seen or felt, it is defined by its effect on matter. For example, microwave ovens produce energy to cook food, but we cannot see that energy. In contrast, we can see the energy produced by a light bulb when we switch on a lamp. In this section, we describe the forms of energy and discuss the relationship between energy, heat, and work.
    • 7.2: Heat
      Thermal energy is kinetic energy associated with the random motion of atoms and molecules. Temperature is a quantitative measure of “hot” or “cold.” When the atoms and molecules in an object are moving or vibrating quickly, they have a higher average kinetic energy (KE), and we say that the object is “hot.” When the atoms and molecules are moving slowly, they have lower KE, and we say that the object is “cold”
    • 7.3: Heats of Reactions and Calorimetry
      Calorimetry is the set of techniques used to measure enthalpy changes during chemical processes. It uses devices called calorimeters, which measure the change in temperature when a chemical reaction is carried out. The magnitude of the temperature change depends on the amount of heat released or absorbed and on the heat capacity of the system.
    • 7.4: Work
      One definition of energy is the capacity to do work. There are many kinds of work, including mechanical work, electrical work, and work against a gravitational or a magnetic field. Here we will consider only mechanical work and focus on the work done during changes in the pressure or the volume of a gas.
    • 7.5: The First Law of Thermodynamics
      The first law of thermodynamics states that the energy of the universe is constant. The change in the internal energy of a system is the sum of the heat transferred and the work done. At constant pressure, heat flow (q) and internal energy (U) are related to the system’s enthalpy (H). The heat flow is equal to the change in the internal energy of the system plus the PV work done. When the volume of a system is constant, changes in its internal energy can be calculated by substituting the ideal g
    • 7.6: Heats of Reactions - ΔU and ΔH
      Enthalpy is a state function used to measure the heat transferred from a system to its surroundings or vice versa at constant pressure. Only the change in enthalpy (ΔH) can be measured. A negative ΔH means that heat flows from a system to its surroundings; a positive ΔH means that heat flows into a system from its surroundings. For a chemical reaction, the enthalpy of reaction (ΔHrxn) is the difference in enthalpy between products and reactants; the units of ΔHrxn are kilojoules per mole. Revers
    • 7.7: Indirect Determination of ΔH - Hess's Law
      Similarly, when we add two or more balanced chemical equations to obtain a net chemical equation, ΔH for the net reaction is the sum of the ΔH values for the individual reactions. This principle is called Hess’s law, which allows us to calculate ΔH values for reactions that are difficult to carry out directly by adding together the known ΔH values for individual steps that give the overall reaction, even though the overall reaction may not actually occur via those steps.
    • 7.8: Standard Enthalpies of Formation
      The enthalpy of formation (ΔHf) is the enthalpy change that accompanies the formation of a compound from its elements. Standard enthalpies of formation (ΔHof) are determined under standard conditions: a pressure of 1 atm for gases and a concentration of 1 M for species in solution, with all pure substances present in their standard states (their most stable forms at 1 atm pressure and the temperature of the measurement). The standard heat of formation of any element in its most stable form is de
    • 7.9: Fuels as Sources of Energy
      According to the law of conservation of energy, energy can never actually be “consumed”; it can only be changed from one form to another. What is consumed on a huge scale, however, are resources that can be readily converted to a form of energy that is useful for doing work.  energy that is not used to perform work is either stored as potential energy for future use or transferred to the surroundings as heat.


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