Friday, December 8, 2017

physical chemistry - Enthalpy change and equilibrium


I don't understand why enthalpy change won't change at an equilibrium?


The reason I ask this is because of this question: This question


At first I thought the answer is C, but I realised that the amount depends on where the position of equilibrium lies. The correct answer is D, but doesn't enthalpy change (delta H) also depend on where the position of equilibrium lies?




Answer



The answer should be D. Because of the principle of microscopic reversibility, the forward enthalpy is opposite to the reverse enthalpy. This also follows from the conservation of energy if you will.


In this StackExchange question, there is a nice picture given of a potential energy surface. There you can readily see that the forward reaction enthalpy is opposite to the backward reaction enthalpy.


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