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9.8 Chemicals and Thermal Energy

Exothermic reaction

Endothermic reaction

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Learning Outcomes

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The fire triangle

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Fuel – What is a fuel?

Substance that releases

useful heat when it burns.
Examples of fuel:
• Ethanol
• Hydrogen
• Diesel
• Charcoal

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Fuel – What is a fuel?
How much heat do they release?
Fuel Heat released on burning (kJ/g)
Ethanol 29.8
Hydrogen 143.0
Diesel 45.0
Charcoal 35.0

What are the products of combustion?

ethanol + oxygen  carbon dioxide + water
hydrogen + oxygen  water

diesel + oxygen  carbon dioxide + water

carbon + oxygen  carbon dioxide
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Fuel – What is a fuel?
How are fuels produced?

• Diesel is separated • Hydrogen is made

from crude oil. from methane.
• Crude oil was formed • Methane is formed
from dead sea from animal waste.
animals.
When some people hear the word
“methane,” they immediately think
about cow farts.
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Fuel – What is a fuel?
How are fuels produced?

• Ethanol is made from • Charcoal is made

plants, such as sugar from burning of
cane. carbon woods.

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Combustion

A common combustion
reaction is petrol burning
with oxygen in a car engine.

The products of this

reaction are carbon
dioxide and water.

What is the word equation for this combustion reaction?

petrol + oxygen  carbon dioxide + water

Combustion involves reacting with oxygen, so it can also be

classified as another type of reaction. Which one?

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Combustion = Oxidation

Oxidation is the reaction of a substance with oxygen.

What is the word equation for the oxidation of copper?

copper + oxygen  copper oxide

Reduction is the opposite of oxidation. What do you think is

formed in the reduction of magnesium oxide?

magnesium oxide  magnesium + oxygen

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Exothermic: Combustion (What are the products?)

H2O

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Products of combustion

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Exothermic: Combustion

Combustion is the scientific word for burning.

It is the chemical reaction that takes place when a substance

burns and reacts with oxygen to produce heat and light
energy.

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Complete and incomplete combustion

Fuels like methane, butane

and petrol are hydrocarbons.

When these hydrocarbon fuels

burn in a good supply of oxygen,
they burn completely to make
carbon dioxide and water.

If there is a lack of oxygen, incomplete combustion takes

place.
This means that the fuel burns to produce water, carbon
monoxide and carbon particles.
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Incomplete combustion

Incomplete combustion is a hazardous problem because

the products of the process are toxic.

Carbon monoxide prevents people’s

blood from carrying oxygen.

Carbon particles make city

buildings very dirty, and they can
get into people’s lungs and cause
breathing problems.

What precautions do you think

people take in their homes to
prevent incomplete combustion?

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Putting out fires

If a fire starts accidentally, it is important to be able to put it out

quickly and safely.
To put out a fire, you can
cut off the supply of any
side of the fire triangle.
For example:
 putting water on burning
wood cuts off the heat.
 putting sand on burning oil
cuts off the oxygen.
 cutting down trees in a
forest fire cuts off the supply
of fuel.
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Exothermic and endothermic reactions
What are exothermic and endothermic reactions?

exothermic reactions release energy – they get hot

 ex = out (as in ‘exit’)
 thermic = relating to heat

endothermic reactions absorb energy – they get cold

 en = in (as in ‘entrance’)
 thermic = relating to heat

Most chemical reactions are exothermic.

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Exothermic reactions
Exothermic reactions release thermal energy (heat)
into their surroundings. Exothermic reactions can
occur spontaneously and some are explosive.

What are some examples?

 COMBUSTION
 respiration
 neutralization of acids
with alkalis
 reactions of metals with
acids
 the Thermite Process.

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Magnesium and hydrochloric acid

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9.8 Chemicals and Thermal Energy

Exothermic reaction

Endothermic reaction

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Endothermic reactions
Endothermic reactions absorb thermal energy, and so
cause a decrease in temperature.

What are some examples?

 thermal
decomposition, e.g.
calcium carbonate in
a blast furnace
 photosynthesis
 some types of
electrolysis
 Ice pack

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Ammonium nitrate and water

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Exothermic or endothermic?

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Endothermic or exothermic?

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