Class notes
General Chemistry A: Thermodynamics Lecture Notes #1
- Institution
- Orange Coast College
Lecture notes of 11 pages for the course General Chemistry A185 at Orange Coast College (Professor Maughan)
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Spontaneity, entropy and free energyIntroduction
- 2 important questions chemists ask when studying chem
rxns:
1. How fast is rxn?
- ie: activation energy in kinetics
2. How far does it proceed
- related to equilibrium. If k is large, goes far. If small,
not very small
Spontaneity
-fundamental goal of thermodynamics is to predict whether a
process/reaction will occur
- ie: will water decompose into hydrogen and oxygen?
- spontaneous process: A process is called spontaneous if it
will occur without ongoing outside intervention
-if conditions are right, it proceeds on its own
-once started, no action from outside the system is
necessary to make process continue when
these
I
deciaces,
S
Examples of spontaneous processes Forenthalpt favoRS
- propane burns when ignited spontanet)
- once ignited the rxn keeps going without further
intervention
- water freezes at temp at 0 Celsius *exotheRmK
- ice melts at room temp -
endotheRMIL
- dissolving of table salt in water at room temp endotheRm(c
-
A favoring spontaneity doesn't guarantee ita
Spontaneous vs no spontaneous process
- spontaneous events occur by themselves w/o ongoing
outside help when conditions are right
- a non spontaneous process will not occurs unless some
external action is continuously applied
, - under given set of conditions, if a process is spontaneous
in one direction, not spontaneous in the other
- nonspontaneous process can be made by coupling it to
another process that’s spontaneous, or by supplying
energy from external source
- spontaneity doesnt tell speed of the process
Factors that influence spontaneity
- the change in enthalpy of the system
- refer to first 2 examples of spontaneous process listed
earlier. What do they have in common?
- decrease in enthalpy
- decrease in enthalpy = spontaneity favored
- second factor for spontaneous change is natures
tendency to move to a condition of maximum disorder
the change in entropy of the system
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller jamfestcrzy. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
81177 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now