Hess’s Law

The enthalpy change of a physical or

chemical process is independent of the
pathway of the process and the number
of intermediate steps in the process.

Start Finish

Either way, you get to the finish. 1

Hess’s law allows you to determine
the energy of chemical reaction
without directly measuring it.

The enthalpy change of a chemical

process is equal to the sum of the
enthalpy changes of all the
individual steps that make up the
process.

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 Determine the heat of reaction for the reaction:
4NH3(g) + 5O2(g)  4NO(g) + 6H2O(g)

Using the following sets of reactions:

N2(g) + O2(g)  2NO(g) H = 180.6 kJ

N2(g) + 3H2(g)  2NH3(g) H = -91.8 kJ

2H2(g) + O2(g)  2H2O(g) H = -483.7 kJ

Hint: The three reactions must be algebraically

manipulated to add up to the desired reaction.
and.. the H values must be treated accordingly. 3
Goal: 4NH3(g) + 5O2(g)  4NO(g) + 6H2O(g)
Using the following sets of reactions:
N2(g) + O2(g)  2NO(g) H = 180.6 kJ
N2(g) + 3H2(g)  2NH3(g) H = -91.8 kJ
2H2(g) + O2(g)  2H2O(g) H = -483.7 kJ

NH3: Reverse and x 2 4NH3  2N2 + 6H2 H = +183.6 kJ

O2 : Found in more than one place, SKIP IT (its hard).
NO: x2 2N2 + 2O2  4NO H = 361.2 kJ
H2O: x3 6H2 + 3O2  6H2O H = -1451.1 kJ

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 Goal: 4NH3(g) + 5O2(g)  4NO(g) + 6H2O(g)

NH3: Reverse and x2 4NH3  2N2 + 6H2 H = +183.6 kJ

O2 : Found in more than one place, SKIP IT.
NO: x2 2N2 + 2O2  4NO H = 361.2 kJ
H2O: x3 6H2 + 3O2  6H2O H = -1451.1 kJ

Cancel terms and take sum.

4NH3 + 5O2  4NO + 6H2O H = -906.3 kJ

Is the reaction endothermic or exothermic?

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Determine the heat of reaction for the reaction:

C2H4(g) + H2(g)  C2H6(g)

Use the following reactions:

C2H4(g) + 3O2(g)  2CO2(g) + 2H2O(l) H = -1401 kJ

C2H6(g) + 7/2O2(g)  2CO2(g) + 3H2O(l) H = -1550 kJ

H2(g) + 1/2O2(g)  H2O(l) H = -286 kJ

Consult your neighbor if necessary.

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 Determine the heat of reaction for the reaction:

Goal: C2H4(g) + H2(g)  C2H6(g) H = ?

Use the following reactions:

C2H4(g) + 3O2(g)  2CO2(g) + 2H2O(l) H = -1401 kJ

C2H6(g) + 7/2O2(g)  2CO2(g) + 3H2O(l) H = -1550 kJ

H2(g) + 1/2O2(g)  H2O(l) H = -286 kJ

C2H4(g) :use 1 as is C2H4(g) + 3O2(g)  2CO2(g) + 2H2O(l) H = -1401 kJ
H2(g) :# 3 as is H2(g) + 1/2O2(g)  H2O(l) H = -286 kJ
C2H6(g) : rev #2 2CO2(g) + 3H2O(l)  C2H6(g) + 7/2O2(g) H = +1550 kJ

C2H4(g) + H2(g)  C2H6(g) H = -137 kJ

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Homework:
Page 317 #1-3

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Where do the reference equations come from?

Many can be determined through calorimetry.

ie. combustion reactions

Another type of reference equation is called

standard enthalpies of formation.

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 Standard Enthalpies of formation:
The standard enthalpy of formation is a measure of the energy
released or consumed when one mole of a substance is created
under standard conditions from its pure elements.

The symbol of the standard enthalpy of formation is ΔHof.

Δ = A change in enthalpy
o
= A degree signifies that it's a standard enthalpy change.
f = The f indicates that the substance is formed from its elements

An important point to be made about the standard enthalpy

of formation is that when a pure element is in its standard
form its standard enthalpy formation is zero.
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The equation for the standard enthalpy change
of formation, shown below, is commonly used:

ΔHoreaction=∑nΔHof(products)−∑nΔHof(Reactants)

This equation essentially states that the

standard enthalpy change of formation is equal
to the sum of the standard enthalpies of
formation of the products minus the sum of
the standard enthalpies of formation of the
reactants.
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Given a simple chemical equation with the variables A, B and C representing
different compounds:
A+B⇋C
and the standard enthalpy of formation values:
•ΔHfo[A] = 433 KJ/mol
•ΔHfo[B] = -256 KJ/mol
•ΔHfo[C] = 523 KJ/mol

the equation for the standard enthalpy change of formation is as follows: 

ΔHreactiono = ΔHfo[C] - (ΔHfo[A] + ΔHfo[B])

ΔHreactiono = (1 mol)(523 kJ/mol) - ((1 mol)(433 kJ/mol) + (1 mol)(-256 kJ/mol))

Because there is one mole each of A, B and C,  the standard enthalpy of

formation of each reactant and product is multiplied by 1 mole, which
eliminates the mol denominator:
ΔHreactiono = 346 kJ

The result is 346 kJ, which is the standard enthalpy change of formation for the
creation of variable "C". 12
 Calculate the ΔHreactiono for the formation of NO2(g).

NO2(g) is formed from the combination of NO(g) and O2(g) in the following
reaction:
2NO(g)+O2(g)⇋2NO2(g)
To find the ΔHreactiono, use the formula for the standard enthalpy change of
formation:
ΔHoreaction=∑ΔHof(products)−∑ΔHof(Reactants)
The relevant standard enthalpy of formation values from the data table are as
follows:
•O2(g): 0 kJ/mol
•NO(g): 90.25 kJ/mol
•NO2(g): 33.18 kJ/mol
Plugging these values into the formula above gives the following:
ΔHreactiono= (2 mol)(33.18 kJ/mol) - ((2 mol)(90.25 kJ/mol) + (1 mol)(0 kJ/mol))
ΔHreactiono =-114.14kJ

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 Homework:
Page 324 #1-6

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Thermodynamic Quantities of Selected Substances @ 298.15 K

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