Chemical Energetics

CHEMICAL ENERGETICS
Enthalpy Change, ΔH
• The total chemical energy inside a substance is called the enthalpy (or
heat content)
• When chemical reactions take place, changes in chemical energy take
place and therefore the enthalpy changes
• An enthalpy change is represented by the symbol ΔH (Δ= change; H =
enthalpy)
• An enthalpy change can be positive or negative
Exothermic reactions
• A reaction is exothermic when the products have less energy than the reactants
• Heat energy is given off by the reaction to the surroundings
• The temperature of the environment increases - this can be measured on a
thermometer
• The temperature of the system decreases
• There is an enthalpy decrease during the reaction so ΔH is negative
• Exothermic reactions are thermodynamically possible (because the enthalpy of
the reactants is higher than that of the products)
• However, the rate may be too slow to observe any appreciable reaction
• In this case the reaction is kinetically controlled
• This means the reaction could have a high activation energy which is preventing the
reaction from taking place.
The enthalpy change during an exothermic reaction
Endothermic reactions
• A reaction is endothermic when the products have more energy than

the reactants
• Heat energy is absorbed by the reaction from the surroundings
• The temperature of the environment decreases - this can be measured with
a thermometer
• The temperature of the system increases
• There is an enthalpy increase during the reaction so ΔH is positive
The enthalpy change during an endothermic reaction
Exam Tip
• It is important to specify the physical states of each species in an

equation when dealing with enthalpy changes as any changes in state
can cause very large changes of enthalpy.
• For example:
• Na+Cl- (s) → Na+ (aq) + Cl- (aq) ΔH = +4 kJ mol-1
• Na+Cl- (g) → Na+ (g) + Cl- (g) ΔH = + 500 kJ mol-1
• Also, remember that the system is the molecules that are
reacting (i.e. the reaction itself) and the surroundings are everything
else (eg. the flask the reaction is taking place in).
Reaction Pathway Diagrams
• A reaction pathway diagram shows the energies of the reactants, the

transition state(s) and the products of the reaction with time
• They are sometimes called energy profile diagrams
• The transition state is a stage during the reaction at which chemical
bonds are partially broken and formed
• The transition state is very unstable – it cannot be isolated and is
higher in energy than the reactants and products
• The activation energy (Ea) is the energy needed to reach the transition
state
• We can define the activation energy as ‘the minimum amount of
energy needed for reactant molecules to have a successful collision
and start the reaction’
Exothermic reaction
• In an exothermic reaction, the reactants are higher in energy than the

products
• The reactants are therefore closer in energy to the transition state
• This means that exothermic reactions have a lower activation energy
compared to endothermic reactions
Endothermic reaction
• In an endothermic reaction, the reactants are lower in energy than

the products
• The reactants are therefore further away in energy to the transition
state
• This means that endothermic reactions have a higher activation
energy compared to exothermic reactions
Exam Tip
• The activation energy is the energy difference from reactants to

the transition state.
• The enthalpy change of the reaction is the energy difference
from reactants to products.
• Remember to label the axis of the reaction pathway diagrams!
Defining Enthalpy Changes
• To fairly compare the changes in enthalpy between reactions, all reactions should be
carried out under standard conditions
• These standard conditions are:
• A pressure of 101 kPa
• A temperature of 298 K (25 oC)
• Each substance involved in the reaction is in its normal physical state (solid, gas or liquid)
• To show that a reaction has been carried out under standard conditions, the symbol θ
is used
• ΔHθ = the standard enthalpy change
• These are a number of key definitions for common language relating to enthalpy
change that all chemists need to know
Exam Tip
• The ΔHθf of an element in its standard state is zero. For example, ΔHθf of O2 (g) is 0 kJ
mol-1
• Calculate ΔHθf of the reaction below:
4Fe (s) + 3O2 (g) → 2Fe2O3 (s) ΔHθf [Fe2O3 (s)] = –824.2 kJ mol-1
• Identify each of the following as ΔHθr, ΔHθf, ΔHθc or ΔHθneut:
MgCO3 (s) → MgO (s) + CO2 (g)
C (graphite) + O2 (g) → CO2 (g)
HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq) → NaCl (aq) + H2O (l)
Enthalpy & Bond Energies
• During a reaction, enthalpy changes take place because bonds are being
broken and formed
• Energy (in the form of heat) is needed to overcome attractive forces between
atoms
• Bond breaking is therefore endothermic
• Energy is released from the reaction to the surroundings (in the form of heat)
when new bonds are formed
• Bond forming is therefore exothermic
• If more energy is required to break bonds than energy is released when new
bonds are formed, the reaction is endothermic
• If more energy is released when new bonds are formed than energy is
required to break bonds, the reaction is exothermic
• In reality, only some bonds in the reactants are broken and then new ones are
formed
Enthalpy Calculations
Exact bond energy

• The amount of energy required to break one mole of
a specific covalent bond in the gas phase is called the bond
dissociation energy
• Bond dissociation energy (E) is also known as exact bond
energy or bond enthalpy
• The type of bond broken is put in brackets after E
• Eg. EE(H-H) is the bond energy of a mole of single bonds between two
hydrogen atoms
Average bond energy
• Bond energies are affected by other atoms in the molecule (the
environment)
• Therefore, an average of a number of the same type of bond but in
different environments is calculated
• This bond energy is known as the average bond energy
• Since bond energies cannot be determined directly, enthalpy
cycles are used to calculate the average bond energy
• Bond energies are used to find the ΔHrꝋ of a reaction when this
cannot be done experimentally
• E.g. the Haber Process
• The equation to calculate the standard enthalpy change of reaction
using bond energies is:
• ΔHθr = enthalpy change for bonds broken + enthalpy change for
bonds formed
• Calculate the enthalpy change of reaction the Haber process reaction.
• The relevant bond energies are given in the table.
• Note: Values for bonds broken are positive (endothermic) and values
for bonds formed are negative (exothermic)
• The complete combustion of ethyne, C2H2, is shown in the equation
below:
Measuring enthalpy changes
• Calorimetry is a technique used to measure changes in enthalpy of

chemical reactions
• A calorimeter can be made up of a polystyrene drinking cup,
a vacuum flask or metal can
• The energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 g of a substance
by 1 oC is called the specific heat capacity (c) of the liquid
• The specific heat capacity of water is 4.18 J g-1 oC-1
• The energy transferred as heat can be calculated using the following
equation:
• q = m x c x ΔT
• q = the heat transferred, J
• m = the mass of water, g
• c = the specific heat capacity, J g-1 oC-1 or J g-1 K-1
• T = the temperature change, oC
• In a calorimetric experiment, 2.50 g of methane is burnt in excess
oxygen.
• 30% of the energy released during the combustion is absorbed by 500
g of water, causing the temperature to rise from 25 oC to 68 oC.
• The specific heat capacity of water is 4.18 J g-1 K-1.
• Calculate the total energy released per gram of methane burnt.
• Step 1: Gather the necessary values for the q = m x c x ΔT equation:
• m (of water) = 500 g
• c (of water) = 4.18 J g-1 K-1
• ΔT (of water) = 68 oC - 25 oC = 43 oC = 43 K
• The change in temperature in oC is equal to the change in temperature in K
• Step 2: Complete the calculation:
• q = 500 x 4.18 x 43
• q = 89 870 J
• Step 3: Conversion from 30% to 100%
• The value of q calculated is only 30% of the total energy released by 2.50 g of methane
• Total energy x 0.3 = 89 870 J
• Total energy = 299 567 J

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CHEMICAL ENERGETICS

• A reaction is endothermic when the products have more energy than

• It is important to specify the physical states of each species in an

• A reaction pathway diagram shows the energies of the reactants, the

• In an exothermic reaction, the reactants are higher in energy than the

• In an endothermic reaction, the reactants are lower in energy than

• The activation energy is the energy difference from reactants to

Exact bond energy

• Calorimetry is a technique used to measure changes in enthalpy of

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