Spontaneous reactions, Entropy and Gibb

Hey everyone~

Sorry about not posting yesterday :(

But otherwise, i'll be explaining yesterday and today's day in Chemistry.

On Tuesday, Mr. Liebs explained Spontaneous Reactions and Entropy (\DeltaS).

Although it's all in our notes, I'll just summarize the basic points:

Spontaneous Reactions: a process that takes place on their own, without outside forces

Some examples are...

- ice cubes melting when added to water at room temperature

- mixing hydrogen and oxygen to form water when a spark is applied

- iron rusting because it's exposed to moist air

(These reactions will happen no matter what, in these given conditions)

Entropy

Nature tends to move spontaneously from an orderly state to a random/disorderly state (a process known as the randomness factor).

And connecting with this "randomness" idea is entropy: an increase in disorder or randomness shown as \Delta S

Entropy is highest in this order of states: solid <>

When using entropy in reactions, the equation is \Delta S =\Sigma \Delta S (products) - \Sigma \Delta S (reactions)

Note: when calculating entropy, the coefficients should be a part of the equation (multiplied to each term, accordingly)

On Wednesday, Mr. Liebs continued on with another explanation of notes on Gibb's Free Energy: the energy in the system that is available to do useful work.

A reaction can do useful work if it's spontaneous; and whether or not it's spontaneous can be found through this equation: \Delta G = \Delta H - T \Delta S (as long as temperature and pressure are constant)

Note: In the latter equation, 'T' or temperature has to be in Kelvin)

We will know if the reaction is spontaneous by knowing if \Delta G is a positive or negative value.

If \Delta G is negative, the equation is spontaneous

If \Delta G is positive, the reverse equation is spontaneous

[Look at Table 17.2 in the textbook for more information]

Homework:

Tuesday's homework: Hess' Law Lab

Hess' Law Worksheet

Wednesday's homework: Gibb's Free Energy Worksheet

WebAssign

AND THURSDAY'S TEST WILL BE MOVED TO FRIDAY BECAUSE OF THE SNOW DAY!

So have a fun snow day tomorrow! :)

And the next scribe will be....... Paige H.