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of Reactions

Chemical Energetics: Definitions

of Standard Enthalpy Changes of
Reactions
June 3, 2019 By Sean Chua Leave a Comment

A-Level H2 Chemistry students in junior colleges (JC) in Singapore always complain

about this topic called Chemical Energetics (also known as Thermochemistry) and
how difficult the questions are set in their schools. This topic is usually covered in
term 1 or term 2 in JC1.

There are 3 sections in Chemical Energetics, namely:

Enthalpy Changes, ΔH
Entropy Changes, ΔS
Gibbs Free Energy, ΔG

After teaching batches of students in the last 16 years, i realised those students
who are weak in this topic tends to take short-cuts. They are too “lazy” to
understand and remember the key definitions of each of the different Standard
Enthalpy Changes of Reactions. No wonder they are struggling with this topic. If
you want to master this topic, you cannot take short-cuts and expect yourself to do
well.

Students need to have a good grasp of all these fundamentals before they can
answer application questions on Hess’ Law, Born Haber Cycle, Energy Level
Diagram, etc.

Enthalpy Change of Reaction, ΔH

To start, let’s look at Enthalpy Change of Reaction, ΔH, which is defined as the
heat change (heat energy absorbed or evolved) when the reaction takes place
between the reagents as indicated by the stoichiometric equation for the reaction.

If the reaction is carried out at standard conditions, it will then be known as

Standard Enthalpy Change of Reaction, ΔHθ.

Let’s now take a look at the definitions of the key Standard Enthalpy Changes of
Reactions (with examples):

Standard Enthalpy Change of Formation, ΔHfθ

Energy change when 1 mole of the compound is formed from its constituent
elements under standard conditions

e.g. H2 (g) + 1/2 O2 (g) → H2O (l) ΔHfθ(H2O)

Standard Enthalpy Change of Combustion,

ΔHcθ
Energy released when 1 mole of a substance is completely burned in oxygen
under standard conditions

e.g. C2H4 (g) + 3 O2 (g) → 2 CO2 (g) + 2 H2O (l) ΔHcθ(C2H4)

Standard Enthalpy Change of Neutralisation,

ΔHneuθ
Energy released when 1 mole of water is formed in the neutralisation between an
acid and an alkali under standard conditions

e.g. HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq) → NaCl (aq) + H2O (l) ΔHneuθ

Standard Enthalpy Change of Atomisation,

ΔHatomθ
Energy absorbed when an element is converted into 1 mole of free gaseous
atoms under standard conditions

e.g. 1/2 O2 (g) → O (g) ΔHatomθ(O)

Standard Enthalpy Change of Hydration, ΔHhydθ

Energy released when 1 mole of the gaseous ion is dissolved in large amount of
water under standard conditions

e.g. Na+ (g) + water → Na+ (aq) ΔHhydθ(Na+)

Standard Enthalpy Change of Solution, ΔHsolnθ

Energy change when 1 mole of a substance dissolves in such a large volume of
solvent that addition of more solvent produces no further heat change under
standard conditions

e.g. NaCl (s) + water → Na+ (aq) + Cl– (aq) ΔHsolnθ(NaCl)

Lattice Energy, ΔHlattθ

Energy released when 1 mole of an ionic crystalline solid is formed from its
separate gaseous ions under standard conditions

e.g. Na+ (g) + Cl– (g) → NaCl (s) ΔHlattθ(NaCl)

Besides the definitions above, it is important that you know three more basic
definitions also in order to solve all the application type questions, and they are:

Ionisation Energy, I.E.

First Ionisation Energy, 1st I.E.

Energy absorbed to remove 1 mole of electrons from 1 mole of gaseous atoms to

form 1 mole of singly charged gaseous cations.

Second Ionisation Energy, 2nd I.E.

Energy absorbed to remove 1 mole of electrons from 1 mole of singly charged

gaseous cations to form 1 mole of doubly charged gaseous cations.

e.g. Al (g) → Al+ (g) + e– 1st I.E. = +577 kJ/mol

e.g. Al+ (g) → Al2+ (g) + e– 2nd I.E. = +1820 kJ/mol

Note:

Outermost electrons get removed first

Ionisation is endothermic process, i.e. ∆H = +ve
Further removal of electrons becomes more difficult as they are being removed
from an increasingly positively charged species i.e. 1st I.E. < 2nd I.E. < 3rd I.E.

Electron Affinity, E.A.

Enthalpy change when 1 mole of electrons is added to 1 mole of atoms or ions in
the gaseous state

First Electron Affinity, 1st E.A.

Energy released when 1 mole of electrons is added to 1 mole of gaseous atoms to

form 1 mole of singly charged gaseous anions.

Second Electron Affinity, 2nd E.A.

Energy change when 1 mole of electrons is added to 1 mole of singly charged

gaseous anions to form 1 mole of doubly charged gaseous anions.

e.g. O (g) + e– → O– (g) 1st E.A. (O)

e.g. O– (g) + e– → O2– (g) 2nd E.A. (O)

Note:

1st E.A. is usually negative and is the measure of affinity of the atom for the
incoming electron. The stronger the affinity for the electron, the more energy is
given off in the formation of the anion and the more negative the E.A.
 2nd E.A. is always positive. Energy is required to overcome the repulsion
between the incoming electron and the already negatively charged ion.

Bond Energy, B.E.

Energy absorbed to break 1 mole of a covalent bond between 2 atoms in the
gaseous state.

e.g. A-A (g) → 2 A (g) B.E. (A-A)

e.g. A-B (g) → A (g) + B (g) B.E. (A-B)

Note:

Standard condition (under the new H2 Chemistry syllabus code 9729) refers to:

Pressure of 1 bar
Temperature of 298K
Substance in its most stable physical form e.g. H2 (g), H2O (l), Br2 (l), NaCl (s),
etc

I hope you find the content easy for your understanding and if you have any
questions, leave me a comment below. Feel free to share this blog post with your
friends.

Do stay tuned to the upcoming posts as i will be discussing on the applications of

Enthalpy Changes using Hess’ Law. I will also be sharing the concepts and
applications involved in Entropy Changes and Gibbs Free Energy.

Subscribe to my blog to receive 2 updates per month sent to your email!

PS: Under related articles below, there are several blog post discussions and
questions related to Chemical Energetics. You can also do a keyword search using
the search box at the top right hand corner.

PPS: If you need help with your A-Level H2 Chemistry, do join us in our weekly A-
Level H2 Chemistry Tuition Class.

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Related Articles:

Chemical Energetics: Experimental Method to Determine Enthalpy Change of

Combustion
Atomic Structure: Ionisation Energy Video Tutorial
Chemical Energetics: Application of Hess’ Law & Energy Cycle Diagram
Concentrations of Solutions in Atoms, Molecules & Stoichiometry
Chemical Energetics: Gibbs Free Energy in Thermodynamics

Sean Chua

Winners Education Centre Pte. Ltd.

Many know me as the Ten Year Series book author for JC A-Level
H2 Chemistry and O-Level Pure Chemistry. My 19+ years of
coaching experience (since 1999) with more than 1500 students
from 180+ JCs and Secondary Schools has allowed me to understand the true
reasons why students are not able to perform well in Chemistry. Most
importantly, my strength lies in using everyday analogies (even grandmothers
 can understand!) to simplify abstract concepts. Also, my teaching methodology
has been designed to be fun, enjoyable and effective for my students.

If you want to have an enjoyable time learning Chemistry and being motivated to
excel in Chemistry, contact me today at 9828 7357

 Filed Under: Chemical Energetics

 Tagged With: Bond Energy, Chemical Energetics, Electron Affinity, Enthalpy Change of
Combustion, Enthalpy Change of Formation, Enthalpy Change of Neutralisation, Enthalpy
Changes of Atomisation, Enthalpy Changes of Hydration, Enthalpy Changes of Solution,
Ionisation Energy, Lattice Energy, Standard Conditions, Standard Enthalpy Changes,
Thermochemistry, Thermodynamics

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