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Developing Fuels

Hess' law and enthalpy cycles

  • 3 things to know
  • Components 01, 02 and 03

Overview

Recall questions on why an indirect route gives the same answer, building a cycle from combustion or formation data, and checking it has been used correctly.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Process

Why can an enthalpy change be found by an indirect route, why are elements left out, and how do you check a cycle?

Process

Why is finding an enthalpy change from a Hess cycle described as an indirect determination?

Key term

On an enthalpy level diagram for an exothermic reaction, where do the products lie?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Why can an enthalpy change be found by following an indirect route?

    Model answer

    The total enthalpy change between the same starting materials and the same final products is the same whichever route is taken.

  2. 2

    Give an example of an enthalpy change that cannot be measured directly.

    Model answer

    The enthalpy change of formation of methane, because carbon and hydrogen cannot be made to combine cleanly to give methane and nothing else.

  3. 3

    What is an enthalpy cycle?

    Model answer

    A diagram showing two or more routes between the same reactants and products, so that an unknown enthalpy change can be worked out from known ones.

  4. 4

    Give the expression for the enthalpy change of a reaction in terms of enthalpy changes of formation.

    Model answer

    It 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 for the enthalpy change of a reaction in terms of enthalpy changes of combustion.

    Model answer

    It is the sum of the enthalpy changes of combustion of the reactants minus the sum of those of the products.

  6. 6

    Why can elements be left out of a calculation that uses enthalpy changes of formation?

    Model answer

    The enthalpy change of formation of an element in its standard state is zero, so it contributes nothing to the sum.

Other ways to work this

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A3 ⁴₂He → ¹²₆C.
B¹²₆C + ⁴₂He → ¹⁶₈O.
C¹⁶₈O + ⁴₂He → ²⁰₁₀Ne.

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Nitrogen is +2 in NO and +4 in NO₂.
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