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Example Questions
Example Question #11 : Gibbs Free Energy And Spontaneity
Na(s) + 1/2 Cl2(g) → NaCl (s)
The Standard Heat of formation for NaCl is -411.1 kJ
Which of the following descriptions accurately describes the reaction above?
None of the other answers
It is favorable and driven by a change in entropy only
It is favorable and driven by a change in enthalpy and entropy
It is unfavorable and it is hindered by the unfavorable change in enthalpy
It is favorable and driven by change in enthalpy only
It is favorable and driven by change in enthalpy only
A reaction being favorable or unfavorable is largely determined by the thermochemistry of the reaction. More specifically it is determined by the change in gibbs free energy which is determined by the change in enthalpy, the change in entropy, and the temperature of the reaction. Here we are told that the reaction has a favorable enthalpy change (- means energy is released). Qualitatively we can see that the reaction will have an unfavorable change in entropy because the product, being a solid, is more ordered than the reactants which are both solid and gaseous. Thus we can conclude that the reaction is favorable because of the favorable change in enthalpy, which helps to overcome the unfavorable change in entropy.
Example Question #12 : Gibbs Free Energy And Spontaneity
Calcium carbonate is formed from calcium oxide and carbon dioxide.
Given that this reaction is spontaneous at low temperatures and non-spontaneous at high temperatures, what must be true about the change of enthalphy () and the change of entropy ()?
A reaction is spontaneous if the change of Gibb's free energy (G) is less than zero. Recall that (G) is related to H and S by the equation below.
For this particular reaction, S is negative because the total number of moles of gas decreases from reactants to products. Since the reaction is spontaneous at lower temperatures, then G must be negative when T is small. Since the -TS term would be positive for all values of T, the only way G can be negative is if H is negative. At higher temperatures, the positve -TS term would outweigh the negative H term, resulting in a positive G and a non-spontaneous reaction.
Example Question #13 : Gibbs Free Energy And Spontaneity
Consider the following reaction:
At 298K, , , and . Assuming that and do not change with temperature, what is the value of at 500K? Does the reaction become more or less spontaneous?
We know that , so
There is a net decrease in free energy, so the reaction is more spontaneous at 500 K.
Example Question #93 : Thermochemistry And Kinetics
Suppose that a reaction with an equilibrium constant equal to occurs while at standard state conditions. Which of the following is true regarding this reaction?
The Gibbs free energy change for this reaction is negative and the reaction is nonspontaneous
The Gibbs free energy change for this reaction is negative and the reaction is spontaneous
The Gibbs free energy change for this reaction is positive and the reaction is spontaneous
The Gibbs free energy change for this reaction is positive and the reaction is nonspontaneous
The Gibbs free energy change for this reaction is negative and the reaction is spontaneous
For this question, we're told that a reaction is being run under standard conditions, and that the equilibrium constant for this reaction is much greater than 1. With this information in mind, we can find the correct answer without even having to resort to math. Since the equilibrium constant is greater than one, we know that the products of this reaction are favored over the reactants. And since the products are favored, this means that the reaction must be shifted to the right, in which case it is spontaneous. It's important to know that a spontaneous reaction will always have a negative change in Gibb's energy.
For completion's sake, however, we can show that the Gibb's free energy change is negative by utilizing the free energy change equation.
From this equation, we can see that if is greater than one (as it is in the reaction for this question) the natural logarithm of this value will also be positive. And since the ideal gas constant and the absolute temperature are also positive values, the product of all these values will be positive. But, there is a negative sign in front of these terms, hence making our final answer negative.
Example Question #94 : Thermochemistry And Kinetics
Which of the following situations describes a reaction that can never be spontaneous?
The entropy increases and the enthalpy decreases
The entropy decreases and the enthalpy increases
The entropy decreases and the enthalpy decreases
The entropy increases and the enthalpy increases
The entropy decreases and the enthalpy increases
In this question, we're being asked to provide a circumstance that will never result in a spontaneous reaction. In other words, which answer choice presents a situation that will always be non-spontaneous.
To evaluate the spontaneity of a reaction, it's essential to look at the change in the Gibb's free energy of that reaction. A negative change results in a spontaneous reaction, whereas a positive change results in a non-spontaneous reaction.
We can see that each of the answer choices mentions enthalpy and entropy. Therefore, we need to be able to relate these two terms with the Gibb's free energy term. To do this, we can make use of the following expression.
Again, in order to have a non-spontaneous reaction, the term shown above needs to have a positive value.
From the above expression, we can conclude that any process that has a positive and a negative will always be positive, and hence will always result in a non-spontaneous reaction.
Example Question #61 : Thermodynamics
A chemical reaction has the following changes in enthalpy and entropy.
What is the temperature range for this reaction that allow it to be spontaneous?
The reaction is always spontaneous
A reaction is spontaneous when Gibb's free energy is negative. As a result, we need to determine the temperature range where Gibb's free energy is less than zero. Since we know the values for changes in enthalpy and entropy, we can plug them into the Gibb's free energy equation, and set it equal to zero.
437K is the temperature at which Gibb's free energy is zero. Since entropy is positive for this reaction, increasing the temperature will result in a more negative value for Gibb's free energy.
As a result, any temperature that is greater than 437K will make this reaction spontaneous.
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