Enthalpy Changes
- 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
Exothermic reactions show a negative enthalpy change as energy is released
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
Endothermic reactions show a positive enthalpy change as energy is absorbed
Examiner 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).