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Thermochemistry

Hess's law and energy cycles

  • 3 things to know
  • Components 1 and 2

Overview

Recall questions on the statement of Hess's law, constructing an energy cycle from enthalpies of formation and from enthalpies of combustion, the direction of each arrow, worked calculations both ways, and why an indirect route gives the same answer as the direct one.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

State Hess's law.

Key term

Why is Hess's law useful for a reaction that cannot be carried out directly?

Key term

What must be done to an enthalpy change when the equation it belongs to is reversed?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    State Hess's law.

    Model answer

    The total enthalpy change for a reaction is the same whatever route is taken from the given reactants to the given products, provided the initial and final conditions are the same.

  2. 2

    Which physical principle does Hess's law follow from?

    Model answer

    It follows from the conservation of energy, because energy cannot be created or destroyed by choosing a different route.

  3. 3

    Why is Hess's law useful for a reaction that cannot be carried out directly?

    Model answer

    The enthalpy change can be found by adding the enthalpy changes of reactions that can be measured, provided together they connect the same reactants to the same products.

  4. 4

    Give the expression that calculates an enthalpy change of reaction from standard enthalpy changes of formation.

    Model answer

    The enthalpy change of reaction is the sum of the enthalpy changes of formation of the products minus the sum of those of the reactants.

  5. 5

    Give the expression that calculates an enthalpy change of reaction from standard enthalpy changes of combustion.

    Model answer

    The enthalpy change of reaction is the sum of the enthalpy changes of combustion of the reactants minus the sum of those of the products.

  6. 6

    Explain why the arrows in a formation cycle point upwards from the elements to both the reactants and the products.

    Model answer

    Both the reactants and the products are made from the same set of elements in their standard states, so that set sits at the bottom of the cycle with arrows leading up to each side.

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