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- Deboleena Roy (American River College)
- American River College
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Learning Objectives
- Determine if a chemical process is exothermic or endothermic.
What happens when you take a basketball, place it halfway up a playground slide, and then let it go? The basketball rolls down the slide. What happens if you do it again? Does the basketball roll down the slide? It should.
If you were to perform this experiment over and over again, do you think the basketball would ever roll up the slide? Probably not. Why not? Well, for starters, in all of our experience, the basketball has always moved to a lower position when given the opportunity. The gravitational attraction of Earth exerts a force on the basketball, and given the chance, the basketball will move down. We say that the basketball is going to a lower gravitational potential energy. The basketball can move up the slide, but only if someone exerts some effort (that is, work) on the basketball. A general statement, based on countless observations over centuries of study, is that all objects tend to move spontaneously to a position of minimum energy unless acted on by some other force or object.
A similar statement can be made about atoms in compounds. Atoms bond together to form compounds because in doing so they attain lower energies than they possess as individual atoms. A quantity of energy, equal to the difference between the energies of the bonded atoms and the energies of the separated atoms, is released, usually as heat. That is, the bonded atoms have a lower energy than the individual atoms do. When atoms combine to make a compound, energy is always given off, and the compound has a lower overall energy. In making compounds, atoms act like a basketball on a playground slide; they move in the direction of decreasing energy. We can reverse the process, just as with the basketball. If we put energy into a molecule, we can cause its bonds to break, separating a molecule into individual atoms.
Heat of Reaction, ΔH
When a chemical reaction occurs, the atoms in the reactants rearrange their chemical bonds to make products. The new arrangement of bonds does not have the same total energy as the bonds in the reactants. Therefore, when chemical reactions occur, there will always be an accompanying energy change called the Heat of Reaction.
Let’s consider the reaction of 2 mols of hydrogen gas (H2) with 1 mol of oxygen gas (O2) to give 2 mol water:
\[\ce{2H_2(g) + O_2(g) \rightarrow 2H_2O(g)} \nonumber \]
The enthalpy change (ΔH) of the reaction is approximately −111 kcal/mol. This means that bonds in the products are stronger than the bonds in the reactants by about 111 kcal/mol. Because the bonds in the products are stronger than those in the reactants, the reaction releases more energy than it consumes. This excess energy is released as heat, so the reaction is exothermic. Hence, we can re-write the reaction with the heat released (111 kcal) on the product side of the equation, as follows:
We can also re-write the reaction equation with the ΔH information (see below). Note that an exothermic reaction has a negative ΔH value.
\[\ce{2H_2(g)+O_2(g) \rightarrow 2H_2O(g)} \ \: \: \: \: \: \Delta H = -111 \: \text{kcal} \nonumber \]
Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions
In endothermic and exothermic reactions, energy can be thought of as either a reactant of the reaction or a product.
In an exothermic reaction, heat is released (considered a product) and the energy of the system decreases (ΔH is negative). A chemical reaction is exothermic if heat is released by the system into the surroundings. Because the surroundings is gaining heat from the system, the temperature of the surroundings increases. See Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\).
When methane gas is combusted, heat is released, making the reaction exothermic. Specifically, the combustion of \(1 \: \text{mol}\) of methane releases 890.4 kilojoules of heat energy. This information can be shown as part of the balanced equation in two ways. First, the amount of heat released can be written in the product side of the reaction. Another way is to write the heat of reaction (ΔH) information with a negative sign, \(-890.4 \: \text{kJ}\).
\[\ce{CH_4} \left( g \right) + 2 \ce{O_2} \left( g \right) \rightarrow \ce{CO_2} \left( g \right) + 2 \ce{H_2O} \left( l \right) \: \: \: \: \: \Delta H = -890.4 \: \text{kJ} \nonumber \]
Endothermic reactions require energy, so energy is a reactant. Heat flows from the surroundings to the system (reaction mixture) and the energy of the system increases (ΔH is positive). In the course of an endothermic process, the system gains heat from the surroundings and so the temperature of the surroundings decreases (gets cold). See Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\).
When \(1 \: \text{mol}\) of calcium carbonate decomposes into \(1 \: \text{mol}\) of calcium oxide and \(1 \: \text{mol}\) of carbon dioxide, \(177.8 \: \text{kJ}\) of heat is absorbed. Because the heat is absorbed by the system, the \(177.8 \: \text{kJ}\) is written as a reactant. The ΔH is positive for an endothermic reaction.
\[\ce{CaCO_3} \left( s \right) \rightarrow \ce{CaO} \left( s \right) + \ce{CO_2} \left( g \right) \: \: \: \: \: \Delta H = +177.8 \: \text{kJ} \nonumber \]
Green plants are capable of synthesizing glucose (C6H12O6) from carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) by using solar energy in the process known as photosynthesis:
6CO2+6H2O+686 kcal→C6H12O6+6O2
(The 686 kcal came from solar energy and this is an example of an endothermic reaction.)
Example \(\PageIndex{2}\)
Is each chemical reaction exothermic or endothermic? What is the ΔH of the reaction?
- CH4(g) + 2O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2H2O(ℓ) + 213 kcal
- N2(g) + O2(g) + 45 kcal → 2NO(g)
Solution
- Because energy (213 kcal) is a product, energy is given off by the reaction. Therefore, this reaction is exothermic. ΔH = -213 kcal.
- Because energy (45 kcal) is a reactant, energy is absorbed by the reaction. Therefore, this reaction is endothermic. ΔH = +45 kcal
Exercise \(\PageIndex{2}\)
Is each chemical reaction exothermic or endothermic? What is the ΔH of the reaction?
- H2(g) + F2(g) → 2HF (g) + 130 kcal
- 2C(s) + H2(g) + 5.3 kcal → C2H2(g)
- Answer
-
a. The energy (130 kcal) is produced, hence the reaction is exothermic. ΔH = -130 kcal
b. The energy (5.3 kcal) is supplied or absorbed to react, hence, the reaction is endothermic. ΔH = +5.3 kcal.
Energy Diagrams
Endothermic and exothermic reactions can be visually represented by energy-level diagrams like the ones in Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\). In endothermic reactions, the reactants have stronger bonds than the products. Strong bonds have lower potential energy than weak bonds. Hence, the energy of the reactants is lower than that of the products. This type of reaction is represented by an "uphill" energy-level diagram shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{2A}\). For an endothermic chemical reaction to proceed, the reactants must absorb energy from their environment to be converted to products.
In an exothermic reaction, the bonds in the product have stronger bonds than the reactants. In other words, the energy of the products is lower than the energy of the reactants, hence is energetically downhill, shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{2B}\). Energy is given off as reactants are converted to products. The energy given off is usually in the form of heat (although a few reactions give off energy as light). In the course of an exothermic reaction, heat flows from the system to its surroundings, and thus, gets warm.
| Endothermic Reactions | Exothermic Reactions |
|---|---|
| Heat is absorbed by reactants to form products. | Heat is released. |
| Heat is absorbed from the surroundings; as a result, the surroundings get cold. | Heat is released by the reaction to surroundings; surroundings feel hot. |
| ΔHrxn is positive | ΔHrxn is negative |
| The bonds broken in the reactants are stronger than the bonds formed in the products | The bonds formed in the products are stronger than the bonds broken in the reactants |
| The reactants are lower in energy than the products | The products are lower in energy than the reactants |
| Represented by an "uphill" energy diagram | Represented by an "downhill" energy diagram |
Key Takeaway
- Chemical processes are labeled as exothermic or endothermic based on whether they give off or absorb energy, respectively.
