Energetics
is one in which heat is given out to the surroundings. e.g. burning a fuel. rom the
An exothermic change surroundings. If
an endothermic
An endothermic change is one in which heat is absorbed f
change occurs in
a beaker (or calorimeter), the temperature of the vessel and its contents will fall.
An Enthalpy change ( H) is defined as: An energy change in a reaction that takes place at
constant pressure.
ENTHALPY PROFILE DIAGRAMS
The enthalpy changes during a reaction can be plotted on an enthalpy profile diagram.
• A reaction in which the products have less energy than the reactants is exothermic.
• A reaction in which the products have more energy than the reactants is endothermic.
• The difference between the reactants and the products is the enthalpy change for the
reaction.
• The difference in energy between the reactants and the point of maximum energy
achieved during the reaction is called the activation energy.
Calculating the energy released by a fuel
We can find the energy released by a fuels in the laboratory by using them to heat up water in a
copper can.
The following measurements are needed:
• mass of fuel used (so weigh it before and after)
• the amount of water (best to use the same mass or volume each time)
• the temperature rise (so take initial and final temperatures)
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It is known that 4.2 Joules are needed to warm 1.0 g of water by 1.0oC. This is known as the
specific heat capacity of water.
Therefore: To calculate the energy liberated by a fuel;
E (J) = mass of water (g) × 4.2 J/(oC g) × temp rise (oC)
The energy released per mole of fuel can then be calculated using the mass of fuel used.
E is divided by the moles of fuel used to obtain the energy liberated per mole H (or enthalpy).
(This is expressed in kJ/mol).
Example calculation.
50cm3 of HCl is placed in a polystyrene cup. 50cm3 of NaOH solution is placed in a beaker. The
temperature of each is 18oC. The NaOH solution is then added to the HCl in the cup. The
temperature increases to 24oC. (Moles HCl = Moles NaOH = 0.05 mol) Calculate the enthalpy
change for this reaction.
Note - Mass of water = total volume of the solution = 50cm3 + 50cm3 = 100 cm3
E (J) = mass of water (g) × 4.2 J/(oC g) × temp rise (oC)
= 100 x 4.2 x (18 – 24) = -2520 J
Moles HCl = Moles NaOH = 0.05 mol
∆Hθ = -2520 / 0.05 = -50,400 J mol-1 or – 50.4 kJ mol-1 (3 sig fig)
ENERGY AND BONDS
Energy is given out when a new bond is formed and energy must be supplied in order to break a
bond.
A chemical change will be exothermic if less energy is needed to break the old bonds than is
given out
when the new ones are
formed.
An example is the reaction between hydrogen and chlorine molecules:
H2 + Cl2 2 HCl
or, showing the bonds: H—H + Cl—Cl 2 H—Cl
Energy must be put in to break H—H and Cl—Cl, but formation of two H—Cl bonds gives out
more energy than this, so overall the reaction gives out heat.
Bond energies are measured in kJ/mol, e.g. H—H 436; Cl—Cl 242; H—Cl 431 kJ/mol
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H = + energy to break bonds – energy when new bonds made
= + ( H—H + Cl—Cl ) – ( 2 × H—Cl)
= + ( 436 + 242 ) – ( 2 × 431 )
= + 678 – 862
= – 184 kJ/mol (negative sign means 184 kJ given out when 2 mol of HCl are formed)
We can show this on an energy diagram which represents the heat energy content of the
molecules. 678kJ/mol is put in to split the H—H and the Cl—Cl up into atoms, and then 862
kJ/mol is given out when the two new H—Cl bonds are formed:
2H + 2C l
atom s
Fina l level is below
heat en erg y +67 8
con ten t
–862
H—H +
Cl—Cl –184 kJ/mo l
b efo re net chang e 2 H —Cl
afte r
progress of reacti o n
level on left, since
reaction gives out
heat — i.e. the heat
content of the
compound is less
e.g. Use the bond energies given to find the energy released when one mole of methane is burnt:
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
Data: C—H 413; O=O 497; C=O 803; H—O 463 kJ/mol
Rewrite the equation showing all the bonds:
H H—
O=O H–O–H
C—H + O=C=O +
O=O H–O–H
H
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H = + energy to break bonds – energy when
new bonds made
= + ( 4 C—H + 2 O=O) – ( 2C=O + 4 H—O )
= + (4 × 413 + 2 × 497) – ( 2 × 803 + 4 × 463)
= – 812 kJ/mol (i.e. 812 kJ released for each mole of methane)
We can use bond energies to predict the amount of energy which will be given
out when we burn any particular alkane or alcohol, and so can compare their
effectiveness as fuels.
Average bond dissociation energies
The bond energies used to calculate enthalpy changes are average values obtained
from a wide array of compounds.
They may not be the exact values for the compounds in any particular example.
For this reason enthalpy changes calculated using bond dissociation energies only
give a rough value of the enthalpy change for the desired reaction.
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