Exothermic process

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Exothermic)

Not to be confused with Ectothermic.

Explosions are some of the most violent exothermic reactions.

In thermodynamics, the term exothermic process (exo- : "outside") describes a process or

reaction that releases energy from the system, usually in the form ofheat, but also in a form
of light (e.g. a spark, flame, or flash), electricity (e.g. a battery), or sound (e.g. explosion heard
when burning hydrogen). Its etymology stems from the Greek prefix έξω (exō, which means
"outwards") and the Greek word θερμικός (thermikόs, which means "thermal").[1] The
term exothermic was first coined by Marcellin Berthelot. The opposite of an exothermic process is
anendothermic process, one that absorbs energy in the form of heat.
The concept is frequently applied in the physical sciences to chemical reactions, where as in
chemical bond energy that will be converted to thermal energy(heat).
Exothermic (and endothermic) describe two types of chemical reactions or systems found in
nature, as follows.
Simply stated, after an exothermic reaction, more energy has been released to the surroundings
than was absorbed to initiate and maintain the reaction. An example would be the burning of a
candle, wherein the sum of calories produced by combustion (found by looking at radiant heating
of the surroundings and visible light produced, including increase in temperature of the fuel (wax)
itself, which with oxygen, have become hot CO2 and water vapor,) exceeds the number of
calories absorbed initially in lighting the flame and in the flame maintaining itself. (i.e. some
energy produced by combustion is reabsorbed and used in melting, then vaporizing the wax, etc.
but is (far) outstripped by the energy produced in breaking carbon-hydrogen bonds and
combination of oxygen with the resulting carbon and hydrogen).
On the other hand, in an endothermic reaction or system, energy is taken from the surroundings
in the course of the reaction. An example of an endothermic reaction is a first aid cold pack, in
which the reaction of two chemicals, or dissolving of one in another, requires calories from the
surroundings, and the reaction cools the pouch and surroundings by absorbing heat from them.
An endothermic system is seen in the production of wood: trees absorb radiant energy, from the
sun, use it in endothermic reactions such as taking apart CO2 and H2O and combining the carbon
and hydrogen generated to produce cellulose and other organic chemicals. These products, in
the form of wood, say, may later be burned in a fireplace, exothermically, producing CO2 and
water, and releasing energy in the form of heat and light to their surroundings, e.g., to a home's
interior and chimney gasses.

Contents
[hide]
  1 Overview
 2 Examples
 3 Implications for chemical reactions
 4 Contrast between thermodynamic and biological terminology
 5 See also
 6 References
 7 External links

Overview[edit]
Exothermic refers to a transformation in which a system releases energy (heat) to the
surroundings, expressed by

Q < 0.
When the transformation occurs at constant pressure, one has
for the enthalpy[clarification needed]

∆H < 0,
and constant volume, one has for the internal energy[clarification
needed][dubious – discuss]

∆U < 0.
In an adiabatic system (i.e. a system that does not
exchange heat with the surroundings), an exothermic
process results in an increase in temperature of the
system.[2]
In exothermic chemical reactions, the heat that is
released by the reaction takes the form of
electromagnetic energy. The transition of electrons from
one quantum energy level to another causes light to be
released. This light is equivalent in energy to the
stabilization energy of the energy for the chemical
reaction, i.e. the bond energy. This light that is released
can be absorbed by other molecules in solution to give
rise to molecular vibrations or rotations, which gives rise
to the classical understanding of heat. In contrast, when
endothermic reactions occur, energy is absorbed to
place an electron in a higher energy state, such that the
electron can associate with another atom to form a
chemical complex. Net energy is absorbed by an
endothermic reaction. In an exothermic reaction, the
energy needed to start the reaction is less than the
energy that is subsequently released, so there is a net
release of energy. This is the physical understanding of
exothermic and endothermic reactions.

Examples[edit]
 An exothermic thermite reaction using iron(III) oxide. The
sparks flying outwards are globules of molten iron trailing
smoke in their wake.

Some examples of exothermic processes are:[3]

 Combustion of fuels such

as wood, coal and oil petroleum
 Thermite reaction
 Reaction of alkali metals and other
highly electropositive metals with water
 Condensation of rain from water vapor
 Mixing water and strong acids or strong bases
 Mixing acids and bases
 The setting of cement and concrete
 Some polymerisation reactions such as the setting
of epoxy resin

Implications for chemical

reactions[edit]
Main article: Exothermic reaction
Chemical exothermic reactions are generally more
spontaneous than their counterparts,endothermic
reactions.
In a thermochemical reaction that is exothermic, the heat
may be listed among the products of the reaction.

Contrast between thermodynamic

and biological terminology[edit]
Because of historical accident, students encounter a
source of possible confusion between the terminology of
 physics and biology. Whereas
the thermodynamic terms "exothermic" and
"endothermic" respectively refer to processes that give
out heat energy and processes that absorb heat energy,
in biology the sense is effectively inverted.
The metabolic terms "ectothermic" and "endothermic"
respectively refer to organisms that rely largely on
external heat to achieve a full working temperature, and
to organisms that produce heat from within as a major
factor in controlling their bodily temperature.

See also[edit]
 Calorimetry  Endergonic reaction
 Chemical thermodynamics  Exergonic
 Differential scanning calorimetry  Exergonic reaction
 Endergonic  Endothermic reaction

References[edit]
Notes

1. Jump up^ "Gate for the Greek language" on-line

dictionary

2. Jump up^ Perrot, Pierre (1998). A to Z of

Thermodynamics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-
19-856552-6.

3. Jump up^ Exothermic - Endothermic examples

External links[edit]
Look up exothermic in
Wiktionary, the free
dictionary.

 http://chemistry.about.com/b/a/184556.htm Observe
exothermic reactions in a simple experiment
Categories:
 Thermodynamic processes
 Chemical thermodynamics
Navigation menu
 Create account

 Log in
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Go

 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate to Wikipedia
 Wikipedia store
Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact page
Tools
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Page information
 Wikidata item
 Cite this page
Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version
Languages
 Afrikaans
 Dansk
 Ελληνικά
 Bahasa Indonesia
 Italiano
 Kreyòl ayisyen
 Simple English
 ไทย
 Türkçe
 中文
Edit links
 This page was last modified on 21 April 2015, at 02:08.
 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to
the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.