CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERS

Activities and Assessments:

GUINTO, JULIUS MICHAEL B.
(BSCE 1-5)

LESSON 5, UNIT 1: SPONTANEITY

1. What is a spontaneous reaction?

A spontaneous reaction is a natural process that occurs on its own. For example,
we have a hot and cold object. Naturally, the heat will flow from the hot to the cold
object.
2. What is a nonspontaneous reaction?
On the other hand, the nonspontaneous process is a reaction that requires an
energy or something from the surroundings or external source in order to occur. This is
applied in a refrigerator. Naturally, heat will not flow from the cold to the hot system, but
with the use of energy present in a fridge, heat can flow this way.
3. Indicate whether the following processes are spontaneous or nonspontaneous.
a. Liquid water freezing at a temperature below its freezing point - SPONTANEOUS
b. Liquid water freezing at a temperature above its freezing point -
NONSPONTANEOUS
c. The combustion of gasoline - SPONTANEOUS
d. A ball thrown into the air - NONSPONTANEOUS
e. A raindrop falling to the ground - SPONTANEOUS
f. Iron rusting in a moist atmosphere - SPONTANEOUS
4. A helium-filled balloon spontaneously deflates overnight as He atoms diffuse
through the wall of the balloon. Describe the redistribution of matter and/or
energy that accompanies this process.

This process entails a GREATER/WIDER DISPERSAL OF MATTER since the

helium diffuses from a less volume system (balloon) to a system twice or thrice its
original volume. This also indicates a more uniform distribution of matter.

5. Many plastic materials are organic polymers that contain carbon and hydrogen.
The oxidation of these plastics in air to form carbon dioxide and water is a
spontaneous process; however, plastic materials tend to persist in the
environment. Explain.
Just like what is mentioned in this module, spontaneity of a process does not
correlate with its speed. Therefore, even though the spontaneous oxidation of plastic
materials tends to naturally occur in the environment, the decay of plastic cannot be
observed instantaneously.
LESSON 5, UNIT 2: ENTROPY

1. Indicate which substance in the given pairs has the higher entropy value. Explain
your choices.

(a) C2H5OH(l) or C3H7OH(l)

If we’re going to compute their molar mass, we can see that is C3H7OH(l) heavier. In
entropy, heavier matter has higher entropy value because they have the tendency to
become more random and disorder. Hence, C3H7OH(l) has higher entropy value.
(b) C2H5OH(l) or C2H5OH(g)
From the three states of matter, gas has the highest entropic value because its molecules
tend to be more random and disorder compared to the two. With this, C2H5OH(g) has a
higher entropy value because liquid is less random than gas.
(c) 2H(g) or H(g)

Since the first given contains 2 mol of H atom, the molecule is more susceptible to
becoming random. With this, 2H has a higher entropic value because it is more random
compared to a single hydrogen atom.

2. Write the balanced chemical equation for the combustion of benzene, C6H6(l), to give
carbon dioxide and water vapor. Would you expect ΔS to be positive or negative in this
process?
2𝐶6𝐻6(𝑙) + 15𝑂2(𝑔) → 12𝐶𝑂2(𝑔) + 6𝐻2𝑂(𝑔)
Entropy is the measure of the molecular disorder or randomness of a system. Given that
the equation’s reactants contain a liquid reactant which turns into gas in the product side, the
degree of randomness of the matter increases, hence causing the entropy to increase as well.
In addition, if we’re going to add up the molecular weight of each side, we can see that the
molecular weight of the product side is larger compared to the reactant side. Therefore, we can
expect a POSITIVE ΔS in this process.

3. Predict the sign of the entropy change for the following processes. Give a reason for
your prediction.
(a) Pb2+(aq) + S2−(aq) → PbS(s)

ANSWER: Negative. aqueous to solid, it becomes more ordered, thus decreasing the entropy.

(b)2Fe(s)+O2(g) → Fe2O2(s)

ANSWER: Negative. gas to solid, from disordered to uniform state, decreasing entropy.

(c) 2C6H14(l) +19O2(g) → 12CO2(g) + 14H2O(g)

ANSWER: Positive. Liquid to gas. The system’s randomness increases, resulting in entropy to
increase as well.