Hess's Law part 1

Hesss Law seems to be a topic that causes everyone problems initially. It appears complicated but there
isnt that much to it.

Hesss Law - Theory

The point of Hesss Law is to calculate an enthalpy change (energy change) that cannot be measured
directly in a laboratory.

the enthalpy change is the same no matter how you get to the final product

This is where the triangle comes in:

We are trying to get from A to B. Hesss Law says that whether we go directly from A to B, or indirectly,
from A to C then on to B, it doesnt matter, the answers are the same.

Hesss Law is therefore:

Route 1 = Route 2

Similarly, in the example below, we want to know the enthalpy change in going from A to B, which I have
called H1.

Applying Hesss Law, we know that route 1 = route 2

In this case route 1 is simply H1 and route 2 is H2 + H3, so we can write out:

H1 = H2 + H3
The Arrows

the arrows must go head to tail to be able to add them together

Look at the triangle again, the blue arrows are head to tail, whereas the red arrow is head to head
with the H3 arrow, and tail to tail with the H2 arrow. Thats why we can add H2 and H3 together.

But the blue arrows dont always go in the same directions as those shown above. In questions, it is very
common to see both blue arrows either pointing up or down.

If we compare the two triangles:

From above, we know that H1 = H2 + H3 for the triangle on the left. Compare the blue arrows in the
two triangles.

The triangle on the right, we can see that H2 is pointing in the wrong direction when compared with
H2 in the left hand triangle. This means we can put a minus sign before H2 to give:

H1 = -H2 + H3 or H1 = H3 - H2

The other common example is for both arrows to point downwards.

Again, if we compare the right hand triangle with the left we can see that the H3 arrow is pointing in the
wrong direction.

H1 = H2 - H3

These two triangles are what you will use almost 100% of the time in the questions.

The Triangle
Going back one step, the reason most students struggle with/hate Hesss Law is because they dont
understand how the triangle is constructed.

The triangle is just three or four chemical equations in a different format to what you are used to.

From the triangle above, we could have written the triangle as three separate equations:

AB

AC

CB

Students always say that they dont know which way the arrows go. But the equations tell you which way
the reactions are going!

Ask yourself what are the reactants and what are the products in the three equations

A is a reactant therefore draw an arrow from A towards B and also from A towards C. Its that easy. You
cant draw an arrow towards a reactant!

B is a product. So we need to draw two arrows towards B, one from A and one from C.

In a real example, there will be more information than just A, B and C but the same principles apply.

The two common examples, which we will look at in the next part of the tutorial, are combustion and
formation.