All Physical Chemistry Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Physical Chemistry
For Constant Temperature, Gibbs Free Energy is defined as:
Where , is the change in Gibbs Free Energy,
is the change in enthalpy,
is temperature, and
is the change in entropy.
Which of the following scenarios is not possible?
The following condition is not possible:
This is because if enthalpy is positive, and entropy is negative, the negative sign in front of the temperature term in the formula becomes positive. Addition of 2 positive numbers can not be negative. Plugging in arbitrary numbers into the other conditions can show they are all possible.
Take the following condition:
Then Gibbs free energy can either be positive or negative, depending on the magnitude of enthalpy, entropy, and temperature. (If enthalpy is much larger than entropy and temperature, then the difference will be positive, but if entropy *
is greater than the enthalpy, then the difference will be negative).
Example Question #1 : Physical Chemistry
For constant temperature, Gibbs free energy is defined as:
Where , is the change in Gibbs free energy,
is the change in enthalpy,
is temperature, and
is the change in entropy.
Given that a system is spontaneous, which of the following states are possible?
I.
II.
III.
IV.
I, II, and III
IV only
II and III
I, II, III, and IV
I and III
I and III
Condition I is always true. Condition II is never true, as Gibbs free energy cannot be negative if enthalpy is positive and entropy is negative. Condition III may be true if temperature is very high (this is the scenario when the term dominates the
term. Condition IV is not possible because
and we were given a system with a Gibbs free Energy that is
(we were told the system was spontaneous).
Example Question #1 : Thermodynamics
The enthalpy of a reaction is and the entropy of a reaction is
. Which of the following is the Gibbs free energy (in
) of this reaction?
Cannot be determined from the given information
Cannot be determined from the given information
Gibbs free energy of a system can be solved using the following equation.
where is change in Gibbs free energy,
is change in enthalpy,
is temperature in Kelvins and
is change in entropy. To solve for
we need all three of the variables. We are not given the temperature; therefore, we cannot solve for Gibbs free energy.
Example Question #1 : Thermochemistry And Thermodynamics
In an exergonic reaction, products will have __________ Gibbs free energy and the reaction is __________.
lower . . . spontaneous
higher . . . nonspontaneous
higher . . . spontaneous
lower . . . nonspontaneous
lower . . . spontaneous
Exergonic reaction suggests that the Gibbs free energy is negative. Since the change in Gibbs free energy is defined as Gibbs free energy of products - Gibbs free energy of reactants, a negative change in Gibbs free energy suggests that the products have a lower Gibbs free energy than reactants. A reaction is spontaneous if it has negative Gibbs free energy; therefore, exergonic reactions are always spontaneous. This is because the reaction is producing a more stable product (lower energy) from a less stable reactant (higher energy).
Example Question #1 : Enthalpy And Entropy
Which of the following is true regarding enthalpy and entropy?
The entropy of liquid water is higher than the entropy of hydrogen gas
The enthalpy of liquid water is nonzero whereas enthalpy of hydrogen gas is zero
None of these are true
Both of these are true
The enthalpy of liquid water is nonzero whereas enthalpy of hydrogen gas is zero
Enthalpy is the amount of internal energy contained in a compound whereas entropy is the amount of intrinsic disorder within the compound. Enthalpy is zero for elemental compounds such hydrogen gas and oxygen gas; therefore, enthalpy is nonzero for water (regardless of phase). Entropy, or the amount of disorder, is always highest for gases and lowest for solids. This is because gas molecules are widely spread out and, therefore, are more disordered than solids and liquids. Hydrogen gas will have a higher entropy than liquid water.
Example Question #1 : Enthalpy And Entropy
According to the law of thermodynamics, which of the following statement(s) is/are true?
I. Enthalpy of a system is always increasing
II. Entropy of a system is always increasing
III. Absolute entropy can never be negative
II and III
I and II
II only
III only
III only
The first law of thermodynamics states that the energy of the universe is always constant, which implies that energy cannot be created or destroyed. The energy lost by a system is gained by surroundings and vice versa; however, the total energy of the universe is always constant. The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy, or the amount of disorder in the universe, is always increasing. This suggests that the universe is always going towards a more disordered state. Based on these two laws, we can determine that statement I and statement II are false. Note that these two statements are talking about the system, rather than the universe. The energy (in the form of enthalpy) and entropy can increase or decrease in a system. The surroundings will compensate accordingly to keep the energy of universe constant and increase the entropy. Absolute entropy of a system, surroundings or the universe can never be negative because it isn’t possible to have negative disorder (this is due to the definition of entropy; just remember that entropy can never be negative). Note that the change in entropy can, however, be negative.
Example Question #2 : Physical Chemistry
A newly discovered element has been determined to have a standard entropy of in its pure form. This value is highly unlikely because it violates the __________.
Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics
Second Law of Thermodynamics
First Law of Equivalent Exchange
First Law of Thermodynamics
Third Law of Thermodynamics
Third Law of Thermodynamics
The Third Law of Thermodynamics states that a pure crystalline substance at absolute zero has an entropy of . Mathematically, this formula is expressed as:
where is the Boltzmann constant
and W is the number of microstates of a gaseous atom in the system. Because microstates are used to describe this gaseous atom, there has to be at least one or more.
If only one microstate exists for the system, then the entropy is zero , and can only increase from this point. It is therefore mathematically impossible for any element to have a negative standard entropy.
Remark: keep in mind that entropy changes can be negative, but the entropy of pure compounds cannot be negative.
Example Question #1 : Thermochemistry And Thermodynamics
A chemical reaction is run in which of work is done by the system and the internal energy changes by
. What is the total amount of heat transferred?
The First Law of thermodynamics states that for a system that only exchanges energy by heat or work:
Work is done by the system, therefore
Example Question #1 : Thermochemistry And Thermodynamics
An automobile engine provides of work to push the pistons and generates
of heat that must be carried away by the cooling system. What is the change in the internal energy of the engine?
The First Law of thermodynamics states that for a system that only exchanges energy by heat or work:
The heat is given off by the system, so . Similarly, work is being done by the system, so
Example Question #1 : Thermodynamics
A chemical reaction is run in which of heat is absorbed and the internal energy changes by
. What is the amount of work done?
The First Law of thermodynamics states that for a system that only exchanges energy by heat or work:
Heat is absorbed by the system, therefore
So
done by the system.
Certified Tutor
All Physical Chemistry Resources
![Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors](https://vt-vtwa-app-assets.varsitytutors.com/assets/problems/og_image_practice_problems-9cd7cd1b01009043c4576617bc620d0d5f9d58294f59b6d6556fd8365f7440cf.jpg)