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Entropy & Spontaneity

12th grade

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  • The change in Gibbs energy, ΔG, relates the energy that can be obtained from a chemical reaction to the change in enthalpy, ΔH, change in entropy, ΔS, and absolute temperature, T
  • At constant pressure, a change is spontaneous if the change in Gibbs energy, ΔG, is negative.
  • as a reaction approaches equilibrium, AGr becomes less negative and finally reaches zero and at equilibrium ΔG = -RTln K

Guiding Question:

What determines the direction of chemical change?

By the end of this presentation, you should know that:

  • Entropy, S, is a measure of the dispersal or distribution of matter and/or energy in a system
  • The more ways energy can be distributed, the higher the entropy
  • Under the same conditions, the entropy of a gas is greater than that of a liquid, which in turn is greater than that of a solid

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2 types of processes

Processes

Spontaneous

Non - spontaneous

Requires external energy to occur. (e.g boiling)

ΔG = +ve

=>0

Occurs naturally without external energy. (e.g melting)

ΔG = -ve

= <0

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Entropy

Entropy and Disorder

The entropy of a system is a measure of the dispersal or distribution of matter and energy in the system. A system that has its particles dispersed throughout the system has a higher entropy than if the particles were concentrated in one area. Likewise, a system that has its energy distributed amongst all the particles has a higher entropy than if the same amount of energy was concentrated in only a few of the particles.

When a drop of ink is added to a beaker of water it will diffuse through the solution. The ink molecules spread out and become more disordered. Because the molecules are spread throughout the system after diffusion, the entropy of the system has increased. The amount of disorder in the system is an indicator of the entropy, and because of this, entropy and disorder are often associated together. More disorder is a sign of higher entropy.

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Calculating Standard

Entropy Change (ΔS)

-The standard molar enthalpy values, S, is the entropy of one mole of a substance at 298K and 100kPa.

S(reaction) = ΣS(products) - ΣS(reactants)

-When calculating ΔS, the equation must be balanced.

-Unit of ΔS: JK-1Mol-1

- ΔSdepends on the level of disorder in a system. (increase in disorder = + ΔS)

- Increase disorder means the products have more ways of arranging the particles and distributing the energy in the system.

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Second Law of Thermodynamics

  • Spontaneous processes are those that increase the total entropy of the universe.
  • To determine the spontaneity of the process, both entropy change of the system and the surroundings must be considered together.

A full thermodynamic analysis tells us that the entropy change of the surroundings of a closed system at constant pressure and temperature is given by:

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Gibbs Energy Change

  • The Gibbs energy change represents the maximum amount of work that can be obtained from the reaction.

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Gibbs Energy change and temperature

If ΔH is greater than −TΔS and the reaction is spontaneous (ΔG < 0). However, if the temperature has been raised and the –TΔS term now dominates, making the reaction nonspontaneous (ΔG > 0)

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Gibbs Energy change and equilibrium

  • This graph indicates that it is spontaneous for reactions to form an equilibrium mixture from either direction.
  • The minimum Gibbs energy is when the reaction is at equilibrium and this is established closer to the pure products.The ΔGr, is the difference between the Gibbs energy of products and reactants in a particular ratio of reactants to products, they will have the value zero at equilibrium.