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Chemistry LibreTexts

8: Thermochemistry

  • Page ID
    369471
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    • 8.1: Types of Energy
      All chemical changes are accompanied by the absorption or release of heat. In this unit we will review some of the fundamental concepts of energy and heat and the relation between them. We will begin the study of thermodynamics, which treats the energetic aspects of change in general, and we will finally apply this specifically to chemical change. Our purpose will be to provide you with the tools to predict the energy changes associated with chemical processes.
    • 8.2: Internal Energy and 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.
    • 8.3: Quantifying Heat and Work
      Energy is the capacity to do work (applying a force to move matter). Heat is energy that is transferred between objects at different temperatures; it flows from a high to a low temperature. Chemical and physical processes can absorb heat (endothermic) or release heat (exothermic). The SI unit of energy, heat, and work is the joule (J). Specific heat and heat capacity are measures of the energy needed to change the temperature of a substance or object.
    • 8.4: Constant Volume Calorimeter
      A bomb calorimeter operates at constant volume and is particularly useful for measuring energies of combustion.
    • 8.5: Enthalpy of reactions
      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. Calorimetry measures enthalpy changes during chemical processes, where the magnitude of the temperature change depends on the amount of heat released or absorbed and on t
    • 8.6: Constant Pressure Calorimeter
      a constant-pressure calorimeter, which gives ΔH values directly
    • 8.7: Standard Enthalpy of formation
      The standard enthalpy of formation, ΔH∘f , is the enthalpy change accompanying the formation of 1 mole of a substance from the elements in their most stable states at 1 bar (standard state). Many of the processes are carried out at 298.15 K.
    • 8.8: Calculating Enthalpy of Reactions Using Hess's Law
      Many of the processes are carried out at 298.15 K. If the enthalpies of formation are available for the reactants and products of a reaction, the enthalpy change can be calculated using Hess’s law: If a process can be written as the sum of several stepwise processes, the enthalpy change of the total process equals the sum of the enthalpy changes of the various steps.
    • 8.9: End of Chapter Problems


    8: Thermochemistry is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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