What is the change in enthalpy (ΔH) for an exothermic reaction?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the change in enthalpy (ΔH) for an exothermic reaction?
ΔH > 0
ΔH < 0
ΔH = 0
ΔH is undefined
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the change in enthalpy (ΔH) for an exothermic reaction?
Step 1: Understand what an exothermic reaction is. An exothermic reaction is a chemical reaction that releases heat to its surroundings.
Step 2: Recognize that when heat is released, the energy of the products is lower than the energy of the reactants.
Step 3: Know that enthalpy (ΔH) is a measure of the total energy of a system, including internal energy and the energy required to make room for it (pressure-volume work).
Step 4: In an exothermic reaction, since energy is released, the change in enthalpy (ΔH) is negative.
Step 5: Conclude that for an exothermic reaction, ΔH is less than zero (ΔH < 0).
