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Introduction

All chemical reactions involve energy changes. In some reactions, we are able to observe these energy changes as either an increase or a decrease in the overall energy of the system.

What causes the energy changes in chemical reactions?

When a chemical reaction occurs, bonds in the reactants break , while new bonds form in the product. The following example may help to explain this. Hydrogen reacts with oxygen to form water, according to the following equation:

2 H 2 + O 2 2 H 2 O

In this reaction, the bond between the two hydrogen atoms in the H 2 molecule will break , as will the bond between the oxygen atoms in the O 2 molecule. New bonds will form between the two hydrogen atoms and the single oxygen atom in the water molecule that is formed as the product.

For bonds to break , energy must be absorbed . When new bonds form , energy is released . The energy that is needed to break a bond is called the bond energy or bond dissociation energy . Bond energies are measured in units of kJ.mol - 1 .

Bond energy

Bond energy is a measure of bond strength in a chemical bond. It is the amount of energy (in kJ.mol - 1 ) that is needed to break the chemical bond between two atoms.

Exothermic and endothermic reactions

In some reactions, the energy that must be absorbed to break the bonds in the reactants, is less than the total energy that is released when new bonds are formed. This means that in the overall reaction, energy is released as either heat or light. This type of reaction is called an exothermic reaction. Another way of describing an exothermic reaction is that it is one in which the energy of the product is less than the energy of the reactants, because energy has been released during the reaction. We can represent this using the following general formula:

Reactants Product + Energy

Exothermic reaction

An exothermic reaction is one that releases energy in the form of heat or light.

In other reactions,the energy that must be absorbed to break the bonds in the reactants, is more than the total energy that is released when new bonds are formed. This means that in the overall reaction, energy must be absorbed from the surroundings. This type of reaction is known as an endothermic reaction. Another way of describing an endothermic reaction is that it is one in which the energy of the product is greater than the energy of the reactants, because energy has been absorbed during the reaction. This can be represented by the following formula:

Reactants + Energy Product

Endothermic reaction

An endothermic reaction is one that absorbs energy in the form of heat or light.

The difference in energy (E) between the reactants and the products is known as the heat of the reaction . It is also sometimes referred to as the enthalpy change of the system.

Demonstration : endothermic and exothermic reactions 1

Apparatus and materials:

You will need citric acid, sodium bicarbonate, a glass beaker, the lid of an ice-cream container, thermometer, glass stirring rod and a pair of scissors. Note that citric acid is found in citrus fruits such as lemons. Sodium bicarbonate is actually bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), the baking ingredient that helps cakes to rise.

Questions & Answers

A golfer on a fairway is 70 m away from the green, which sits below the level of the fairway by 20 m. If the golfer hits the ball at an angle of 40° with an initial speed of 20 m/s, how close to the green does she come?
Aislinn Reply
cm
tijani
what is titration
John Reply
what is physics
Siyaka Reply
A mouse of mass 200 g falls 100 m down a vertical mine shaft and lands at the bottom with a speed of 8.0 m/s. During its fall, how much work is done on the mouse by air resistance
Jude Reply
Can you compute that for me. Ty
Jude
what is the dimension formula of energy?
David Reply
what is viscosity?
David
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emma Reply
what is chemistry
Youesf Reply
what is inorganic
emma
Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter,it composition,it structure and the changes it undergoes
Adjei
please, I'm a physics student and I need help in physics
Adjanou
chemistry could also be understood like the sexual attraction/repulsion of the male and female elements. the reaction varies depending on the energy differences of each given gender. + masculine -female.
Pedro
A ball is thrown straight up.it passes a 2.0m high window 7.50 m off the ground on it path up and takes 1.30 s to go past the window.what was the ball initial velocity
Krampah Reply
2. A sled plus passenger with total mass 50 kg is pulled 20 m across the snow (0.20) at constant velocity by a force directed 25° above the horizontal. Calculate (a) the work of the applied force, (b) the work of friction, and (c) the total work.
Sahid Reply
you have been hired as an espert witness in a court case involving an automobile accident. the accident involved car A of mass 1500kg which crashed into stationary car B of mass 1100kg. the driver of car A applied his brakes 15 m before he skidded and crashed into car B. after the collision, car A s
Samuel Reply
can someone explain to me, an ignorant high school student, why the trend of the graph doesn't follow the fact that the higher frequency a sound wave is, the more power it is, hence, making me think the phons output would follow this general trend?
Joseph Reply
Nevermind i just realied that the graph is the phons output for a person with normal hearing and not just the phons output of the sound waves power, I should read the entire thing next time
Joseph
Follow up question, does anyone know where I can find a graph that accuretly depicts the actual relative "power" output of sound over its frequency instead of just humans hearing
Joseph
"Generation of electrical energy from sound energy | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore" ***ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7150687?reload=true
Ryan
what's motion
Maurice Reply
what are the types of wave
Maurice
answer
Magreth
progressive wave
Magreth
hello friend how are you
Muhammad Reply
fine, how about you?
Mohammed
hi
Mujahid
A string is 3.00 m long with a mass of 5.00 g. The string is held taut with a tension of 500.00 N applied to the string. A pulse is sent down the string. How long does it take the pulse to travel the 3.00 m of the string?
yasuo Reply
Who can show me the full solution in this problem?
Reofrir Reply
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Source:  OpenStax, Siyavula textbooks: grade 11 physical science. OpenStax CNX. Jul 29, 2011 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11241/1.2
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