Lecture 2 – Thermochemistry

Terminologies:
 Thermodynamics is the scientific study of the interconversion of heat and other kinds of
energy.

 Thermochemistry is the study of heat change in chemical reactions.

 Exothermic process is the transfer of thermal energy to the surroundings. Endothermic
process is that heat is supplied to the system.

 Enthalpy is the heat content of a chemical system. The enthalpy change is the amount
of heat released or absorbed when a chemical reaction occurs at constant pressure.

 Thermochemical equations show the enthalpy changes as well as the mass

relationships.

∆H
 Standard Enthalpy of formation (¿ ¿ f o ) is the heat change that results when one mole
¿
of a compound is formed from its elements at a pressure of 1 atm.
∆H
 The standard enthalpy change of reaction (¿ ¿ rxn o) can be calculated using the
¿
formula below:

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  Hess’s law states that when reactants are converted to products, the change in
enthalpy is the same whether the reaction takes place in one step or in a series of
steps.

Illustrative Examples:

1. Given the following: CH4 (g) + O2 (g) CO2(g) + H2O (l) ΔH = - 890 kJ
a. Write the balanced thermochemical equation.
b. Is the reaction exothermic or endothermic?
c. How much heat is given off by the reaction of 3.5 moles of CH 4?
d. How much heat is given off by the reaction of 40.0 g of O 2?
e. How many grams of CH4 are needed to release 2000 J of heat?

2. How much enthalpy/heat is transferred when 0.5113 g of ammonium (NH 3) reacts with
excess oxygen according to the following equation: 4NH 3 + 5O2  4NO + 6H2O
ΔH = -905.4kJ

3. How much heat is transferred when 147 g of NO 2 reacts with 100.0 g H2O according to
the following equation: 3NO2 + H2O → 2HNO3 + NO ΔH = -138 kJ

4. Use a standard enthalpies of formation table to determine the delta H for each of these
reactions. State whether each reaction is endothermic or exothermic.
2 H2S(g) + 3 O2(g)  2 H2O(l) + 2 SO2(g)

5. The standard enthalpy of combustion for xylene, C 8H10(l), is -3908 kJ mol-1. Using this
o
data and the standard enthalpies of formation, ΔH f : H2O(l) = -285.9 kJ mol-1; CO2(g)
= -393.5 kJ mol-1, calculate the standard enthalpy of formation of C8H10(l), in kJ mol-1.
Hint: Write chemical equations for combustion of Xylene.

6. Calculate the ∆H for the following reaction: NO + O  NO2 H = ?

You are given these three equations:
O2  2O ∆H = +495 kJ
2O3  3O2 ∆H = -427 kJ
NO + O3  NO2 + O2 ∆H = -199 kJ

7. The combination of coke and steam produces a mixture called coal gas, which can be
used as a fuel or as a starting material for other reactions. If we assume coke can be
represented by graphite, the equation for the production of coal gas is

2
2 C (s) + 2 H 2 O ( g) → CH 4 (g) + CO 2 (g)
Determine the standard enthalpy change for this reaction from the following
standard enthalpies of reaction:
(1) C( s) + H 2 O ( g) → CO ( g) + H 2 (g) ΔH ° = 131.3 kJ
(2) CO ( g) + H 2 O ( g) → CO 2( g) + H 2 ( g) ΔH ° = - 41.2 kJ
(3) CH 4 ( g) + H 2 O (g) → 3 H 2 ( g) + CO ( g) ΔH ° = 206.1 kJ