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Endothermic: IGCSE Chemistry Revision Note

Alexandra Brennan

Written by: Alexandra Brennan

Reviewed by: Philippa Platt

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Contents

  1. 1. What are endothermic reactions?
  2. 2. Endothermic Revision Resources to Ace Your Exams

What are endothermic reactions?

In IGCSE chemistry, an endothermic reaction is a chemical reaction that absorbs heat energy from its surroundings, causing a drop in temperature. This occurs because the energy required to break bonds in the reactants is greater than the energy released when new bonds form in the products.

Common examples include thermal decomposition, photosynthesis, and the reaction between citric acid and sodium hydrogen carbonate.

In IGCSE Chemistry, endothermic reactions are studied in energy changes and are often represented using energy level diagrams, where the products have more energy than the reactants.

Endothermic Revision Resources to Ace Your Exams

For more information about endothermic reactions check out the following resources:

Explore our IGCSE Chemistry Revision Resources.

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Author
Reviewer
Alexandra Brennan

Author: Alexandra Brennan

Expertise: Chemistry

Alex studied Biochemistry at Newcastle University before embarking upon a career in teaching. With nearly 10 years of teaching experience, Alex has had several roles including Chemistry/Science Teacher, Head of Science and Examiner for AQA and Edexcel. Alex’s passion for creating engaging content that enables students to succeed in exams drove her to pursue a career outside of the classroom at SME.

Philippa Platt

Author: Philippa Platt

Expertise: Chemistry

Philippa has worked as a GCSE and A level chemistry teacher and tutor for over thirteen years. She studied chemistry and sport science at Loughborough University graduating in 2007 having also completed her PGCE in science. Throughout her time as a teacher she was incharge of a boarding house for five years and coached many teams in a variety of sports. When not producing resources with the chemistry team, Philippa enjoys being active outside with her young family and is a very keen gardener

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