Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy

Learning Goals
By the end of this lesson, I will be able to…
• Define and identify the difference between
specific heat capacity and heat capacity 
• Identify how to calculate the heat released in
a reaction by using calorimetry
 Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
❑ Enthalpy of reaction is LINEARLY dependent
on the quantity of products.

❑ That is, if the amount of products formed

doubles, the enthalpy change also doubles.

❑ Because of this relationship, an exothermic

reaction that is relatively safe on a small scale
may be extremely dangerous on a large scale
 Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
✔ ΔHrxn & Calculations

✔ Thermochemical Equations

✔ Enthalpy Diagrams

✔ Exothermic vs. Endothermic Reactions

✔ Calorimetry – experimentally determining ΔH

 Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
• ΔHrxn is directly proportional to the amount of substance
that reacts.
• eg. combustion of 2 mol of propane releases twice as
much energy as the combustion of 1 mol of propane.
• Can calculate ΔHrxn based on thermochemical equation
 Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
Thermochemical Equations
Thermochemical equations include the enthalpy change.

Exothermic reaction:
CH4(g) + 2O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2H2O(g) + 890.8 kJ
Endothermic reaction:
N2(g) + 2O2(g) + 66.4 kJ → 2NO2(g)
The enthalpy term can also be written beside the
equation.
CH4(g) + 2O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2H2O(g) ΔHr = –890.8 kJ
N2(g) + 2O2(g) → 2NO2(g) ΔHr = +66.4 kJ
 Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
Enthalpy Diagrams
Enthalpy diagrams clearly show the relative enthalpies of
reactants and products.

• Exothermic rxn 🡪 ΔH of reactants > ΔH products and

🡪 reactants drawn above the products.

• Endothermic rxn 🡪 ΔH reactants < ΔH products

🡪 reactants drawn below the products
 Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
Endothermic vs Exothermic Reactions
Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
Chemical Reactions and Enthalpy
Calorimetry
Specific Heat Capacity, c

• The amount of energy that is needed to

raise the temperature of one gram of a
substance 1ºC (or 1 K)

• expressed in units of J/g•ºC.

• All samples of the same substance

have the same specific heat capacity
Modes of Molecular Motion
The heat capacity of a substance is dependent on the
three ways that its molecules, atoms, or ions can store
thermal energy.

They can:
Translate- move from place to place along a linear path
Rotate- about a bond axis through the centre of mass
Vibrate- or oscillate back and forth along the direction
of the bond
The higher the number and the stronger the bonds, the
higher the heat capacity
 If we keep adding energy...
Energy exceeds chemical bond energies and
molecules dissociate H2 → H + H
@ 10 000 degrees
energy exceeds ionization energy and only
positive ions and electrons exist (plasma) this is
accomplished on earth between electrodes
~ 1 000 000 degrees
kinetic energy allows nuclear reactions to occur in
the centre of stars ~ 10 000 000 degrees
Supernova Explosions ~ 100 000 000 degrees
Heat Capacity, C
• Relates the heat of a sample, object, or
system to its change in temperature.

• Expressed in units of kJ/ºC.

Specific Heat Capacity (c) vs.
Heat Capacity (C)
⮚ Consider a bathtub full of water and a
teacup full of water at room temperature.

⮚ All liquid water has the same specific heat

capacity, c = 4.184 J/g • ° C

⮚ BUT the two samples have different heat

capacities, C

⮚ It would take a MUCH MORE heat to raise

the temperature of the water in the bathtub
by 10°C

⮚ It would take LESS heat to raise the

temperature of the water in the teacup by
10°C.
Specific Heat Capacity &
Heat Transfer

When heat enters a

system, ΔT is positive ΔT = Tfinal – Tinitial
and so is Q.
LEARNING
CHECK
Energy Changes

A 1.0 g sample of copper is heated from 25.0°C to 31.0°C.

How much heat did the sample absorb?
cCu = 0.385 J/g°C

Q = mc∆T
Q = (1.0 g)(0.385 g/J°C)(6.0°C)
Q = 2.3 J
Measuring Heat Transfer
in the Lab = Calorimetry
• Calorimeter:
⮚used to measure enthalpy changes for
chemical & physical rxns.
⮚works by insulating a system from its
surroundings.
⮚measure the temperature change of the
system & thus determine the amount of
heat that is released or absorbed by the
reaction.
Assumptions
No heat is being transferred between the
calorimeter and the outside environment
(isolated system)

Any heat absorbed or released by the

calorimeter itself is negligible (unless
information is given to you in the question!)

A dilute aqueous solution is assumed to have a

density and specific heat capacity equal to that
of water
Flame Calorimetry –
Measure ΔHcomb Flame calorimeters are flame-
A flame calorimeter resistant and often made of
metals cans
• is used for determining
ΔHcomb
• absorbs a great deal of
energy, which must be
included in energy
calculations
• is used for burning impure
materials like food; ΔHcomb
is reported in kJ/g
Bomb Calorimetry –
Measure ΔHcomb
A bomb calorimeter
• is used for more
accurately
determining ΔHcomb
• determines ΔHcomb
at constant volume
• has a particular heat
capacity, C
Q = CΔT is used for
bomb calorimetry
calculations Bomb calorimeters are
much more sophisticated
than flame calorimeters or
simple calorimeters.
 Simple Calorimeter to
Measure ΔHrxn

Endothermic Rxn: Exothermic Rxn:

•heat will be transferred •heat will be transferred
from the water to the from the process to the
process system. water.
Using a Simple
Calorimeter
• nested polystyrene cups can be used (good
insulators)
• a known mass of water is in the inner cup,
where the process occurs
• the process often involves compounds
dissolved in water
• the solution absorbs (endothermic) or
releases energy (exothermic)
• the change in temperature of the
water is measured;
• the solution is dilute enough so
that the specific heat
A simple
capacity calorimeter. of
water is used
 Calorimetry
Hot copper was added to a calorimeter. Given the
following calorimeter data, calculate the specific heat
of copper.
Calorimeter:
Mass of water 500.0 g
Initial temp. of water 20.0 °C
Final temp. of water 26.2 °C

Copper sample:
Mass of copper 482.00 g
Initial temp. of copper 98.8 °C
 Calorimetry
A chemist wants to determine empirically the enthalpy change
for the following reaction:

Mg(s) + HCl(aq) 🡪 MgCl2(aq) + H2 (g)

The chemist uses a coffee-cup calorimeter to react 0.50 g of Mg

ribbon with 100 mL of 1.00mol/L HCl(aq). The initial temperature
of the HCl is 20.4°˚C. After neutralization, the highest recorded
temperature is 40.7°˚C.
Calculate the enthalpy change (⧋H), in kJ/mol of Mg
Write the thermochemical equation
Draw a potential energy diagram
State any assumption you made
 Calorimetry
An aluminium-can calorimeter was used to determine the
heat of combustion (kJ/mol) of isopropyl alcohol.
It was found that combustion of 1.37 g of the alcohol raised
the temperature of the can and water from 19.0˚°C to
28.6˚°C.
The mass of the aluminum-can was found to be 45.73g and
the mass of the aluminium can + water was 202.46g. (Hint:
cAl=0.897J/g˚°C)

Calculate the heat of combustion (kJ/mol) of isopropyl

alcohol (C3H8O).
Write the thermochemical equation with energy terms
 Examples
1.A student places 125.0mL of water at 20.0°C,
she then places a sample of silver at 125°C
into the calorimeter.
The final temperature of the water is 22.5°C.
Calculate the quantity of thermal energy
absorbed by the water.
 Examples
2. What amount in grams of ethylene glycol
would vaporise while absorbing 200.0kJ of heat?
The ΔHvap = 65.6kJ/mol
3. In a calorimetry experiment 3.50 g of
potassium chloride is dissolved in 200 mL of
water at an initial internal temperature of
23.2°C. The final temperature is 19.5°C. What is
the molar enthalpy of potassium chloride?
LEARNING
CHECK
A chemical reaction is
carried out in a dilute
aqueous solution using a
simple calorimeter.
Calculate the enthalpy
change of the reaction
using the data below.
mass of solution in calorimeter:
2.00 х 102 g
specific heat capacity of water: 4.19
J/g°C
Initial temperature: 15.0°C
Final temperature: 19.0°C
Q = msolutioncsolution∆Tsolution

Q = (2.00 х 102 g)(4.19 J/g°C)

(4.0°C)

Q = 3.35 х 103 J
This is the thermal change of
the “surroundings.”
∆Hsystem = –Q
∆Hsystem = –
3.35 kJ

Homework P235 5-8

P 306 3, 4, 5, 6