4.1 Equilibrium & Spontaneity
- Page ID
- 32239
A final quick reminder to complete our unit on equilibrium.
Recall that in Unit I: Thermodynamics, we were interested in whether or not a reaction would occur (be spontaneous).
We learned of two critical factors - enthalpy (Δ H, energy change) and entropy (ΔS, change in randomness) that determine whether or not a reaction will occur.
These two factors are related as Gibbs Free Energy (Δ G) in a mathematical relationship:
\(\ce{\Delta G = \Delta H - T \Delta S}\)
You learned that when
\(\ce{\Delta G < 0}\), the reaction is spontaneous
\(\ce{\Delta G > 0}\), the reaction is nonspontaneous
\(\ce{\Delta G\: = \: 0}\), the reaction is at equilibrium
This unit focused on when \(\ce{\Delta G = 0}\).