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Notes Thermochemistry
Notes Thermochemistry
Exothermic reaction
- Is a chemical reaction that gives out heat to the surroundings.
- Chemical energy is converted to heat energy.
- The surroundings gain heat and as a result, the temperature of the surroundings
increases.
- Others examples of exothermic reactions are shown below:
(a) Respiration
(b) Rusting of iron
(c) Reaction between Group 1 elements with water
Example: 2Na(s) + 2H2O(l)
2NaOH(aq) + H2(g)
(d) Neutralisation reaction between acid and alkali
Example: HCl(aq) + NaCl(aq)
NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
(e) Reaction of a dilute acid with metal carbonate
Example: 2HCl(aq) + CaCO3(aq)
CaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)
(g) Displacement reaction of metals
Example: Zn(s) + CuSO4(aq)
ZnSO4(aq) + Cu(s)
- Some physical processes also release heat as shown below:
(a) Dissolving of alkali in water
Example: NaOH(s)
Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)
(b) Dilution of concentrated acids
Example: H2SO4(l)
2H+(aq) + SO42-(aq)
(c) Condensation and freezing process
2
Endothermic reaction
- Is a chemical reaction that absorbs heat from the surroundings.
- Heat energy is converted to chemical energy and store it in the products.
- The surroundings lose heat energy and as a result the temperature of the surrounding
decreases.
- Others examples of endothermic reactions are shown below:
(a) Photosynthesis
(b) Reaction between sodium hydrogen carbonate and dilute acid
Example: NaHCO3(s) + HCl(aq)
NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)
(c) Decomposition of carbonate salts
Example: PbCO3(s)
PbO(s) + CO2(g)
(d) Decomposition of nitrate salts
Example: 2Zn(NO3)(s)
2ZnO(s) + 4NO2(g) + O2(g)
(e) Decomposition of hydrated salt, such as hydrated copper(II) sulphate
Example: CuSO4.5H2O(s)
CuSO4(s) + 5H2O(l)
- Some physicals processes also absorb heat as shown below:
(a) Dissolving of ammonium salts such as ammonium chloride, ammonium
nitrate and ammonium sulphate in water
Example: NH4Cl(s)
NH+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
(b) Melting and boiling process
The amount of heat change in a specific reaction, however, depends on how much
of each reactant is present.
The more reactants are used, the more heat energy is given out/absorbed in the
reaction. Thus, it is necessary to clearly states the amounts of reactants involved for
the definition of the heat of reaction.
The heat of reaction (H): is defined as the heat change which occurs when
the numbers of moles of reactants indicated by the equation react together.
+ B
H reactants
C + D
H products
NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
H = -57.3 kJ
The heat energy changed in an exothermic reaction can be shown on an energy level
diagrams.
Energy
Reactants
H = negative
Products
For example, the energy level for the reaction between sodium hydroxide solution and
hydrochloric acid is shown in Figure 2.
Energy
NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq)
H = -57.3 kJ
NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
Figure 2: Energy level diagram for the reaction between sodium hydroxide
solution and hydrochloric acid
When an endothermic reaction occurs, heat energy is absorbed from the surroundings.
Thus, the total energy content of the products is higher than the reactants.
H products > H reactants
H = H products H reactants
= positive value
For example, when 1 mole of sodium hydrogen carbonate solution reacts with 1 mole
of hydrochloric acid, the reaction absorbs 11.8 kJ heat energy.
Thus, H = +11.8 kJ
Products
The thermochemical
equation for this reaction is:
NaHCO3(aq) + HCl(aq) EnergyNaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)
H = +11.8 kJ
The heatHenergy
changes in an endothermic reaction can be shown on an energy level
= positive
diagram.
Reactants
Figure
3: The energy level diagram for an endothermic reaction
Energy
H = +11.8 kJ
For example, the energy level for the reaction between sodium hydrogen carbonate
solution and hydrochloric acid is shown in Figure 4.
NaHCO3(aq) + HCl(aq)
Figure 4: Energy level diagram for the reaction between sodium hydrogen
carbonate solution and hydrochloric acid
4
H = -50.4 kJ mol-1
PbSO4(s)
For example, when zinc powder is added into lead(II) nitrate solution, lead is
displaced and zinc nitrate solution is formed.
The heat of displacement
is the heat change when one mole of a metal is
displaced from its salt solution by a more electropositive metal.
o For example, 112 kJ of heat energy is given out when one mole of lead, Pb is
displaced from lead(II) nitrate, Pb(NO3) solution by zinc. Thus, the heat of
displacement of lead is -112 kJ mol-1.
o Thermochemical equation:
Zn(s) + Pb2+(aq)
Pb(s) + Zn2+(aq)
H = -112 kJ mol-1
o The energy level diagram is shown below:
Energy
Zn(s) + Pb2+(aq)
H = -112 kJ mol-1
Pb(s) + Zn2+(aq)
Heat of neutralization
- Neutralization is a reaction between and acid and base or alkali to produce salt and
water only.
- The chemical equations below represent some examples of neutralization reactions
H+(aq) + OH-(aq)
H = -57.3 kJ mol-1
H2O(l)
H+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
H+(aq) + NO3-(aq)
2) Therefore, the heat of neutralization between a strong monoprotic acid and a strong
alkali is always equal to -57.3 kJ mol-1. For example,
HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq)
NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
H = -57.3 kJ mol-1
3) H2SO4 is a diprotic acid. 1 mole of sulphuric acid produces 2 moles of hydrogen ions,
H+ when ionized in water.
H2SO4(aq)
2H+(aq) + 2OH-(aq)
Na2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l)
H = -114.6 kJ mol-1
2H2O(l)
H = -114.6 kJ mol-1
5) However, the heat given out by 1 mole of water formed is still 57.3 kJ as shown
below:
2 moles of H2O formed give out 114.6 kJ
114.6 kJ
=57.3 kJ
1 mole of H2O formed gives out
2
Therefore, the thermochemical equation can be written as:
H2SO4(aq) + 2NaOH(aq)
Na2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l)
H = -57.3 kJ mol-1
Heat of combustion
- Heat change when 1 mole of a substance is completely burnt in O 2 under standard
condition.
At standard condition, the temperature is 25 C and
atmospheric pressure is 1 atm
C2H5OH(l) + 3O2(g)
H = -1376 kJ mol-1
2CO2(g) + 3H2O(l)
The heat of combustion of alcohol increases from 1 member to the following member
as shown in Table 1.
Alcohol
Molecular
formula
Heat of combustion
(kJ mol-1)
Methanol
Ethanol
Propanol
Butanol
Pentanol
CH3OH
C2H5OH
C3H7OH
C4H9OH
C5H11OH
-728
-1376
-2026
-2678
-3332