Student Exploration: Reaction Energy
Vocabulary: calorimeter, chemical bond, endothermic, enthalpy, exothermic, Hess’s law
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Two magnets are stuck together
...
Student Exploration: Reaction Energy
Vocabulary: calorimeter, chemical bond, endothermic, enthalpy, exothermic, Hess’s law
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Two magnets are stuck together. What might you have to do to get them to separate?
2. Suppose you held two magnets a short distance apart, then let go. What would happen?
3. Think about the magnets in terms of energy. In which case do you increase the potential
energy of the magnets? In which case do you increase the kinetic energy of the magnets?
Gizmo Warm-up
Just like magnets, atoms of different elements are
attracted together to form chemical bonds. Breaking
these bonds requires energy. When a new bond forms,
energy is released and temperatures rise. In the Reaction
Energy Gizmo, you will explore how the energy of chemical
bonding relates to temperature changes that occur during
chemical reactions.
To begin, check that Reaction 1 and Forward are selected. In this reaction, hydrogen (H2) and
oxygen (O2) react to form water (H2O). The reaction takes place inside a device called a
calorimeter. Inside the calorimeter, a small chamber holds the reactants. The rest of the
calorimeter is filled with water.
Exert force on both in and pull in opposite direction of the
bond.
They would be pulled towards each other.
You increase the potential energy when holding the two
magnets close to each other but not touching. You increase
the kinetic energy when you let go and let them connect.
As the temperature rises the hydrogen
and oxygen atoms bond into water molecules.2019
1. Click Play ( ). What happens?
2. How does the temperature change?The starting temperature is 21°C and
rises to 27.4°C, an increase of 6.4°C, holding at that temp
once all the hydrogen and oxygen atoms are bonded.2019
Activity A:
Energy of
chemical bonds
Get the Gizmo ready:
Check that Reaction 1 and Forward are selected.
Select the INVESTIGATION tab.
Introduction: The heat energy stored in a chemical system is called the enthalpy (H) of the
system. When atoms are joined by a chemical bond, energy must be added to pull them apart.
This increases the enthalpy of the system. When a chemical bond forms, energy is released as
shared electrons move into lower-energy orbitals. This causes the enthalpy to decrease.
Question: How can you predict how much energy is released in a chemical reaction?
1. Predict: In the warm-up activity, you observed how the reaction inside the chamber affected
the temperature of the surrounding water. Based on what happens to the surrounding water,
do you think heat energy (enthalpy) is absorbed in the reaction or released? Explain.
2. Observe: In the Gizmo, the energy required to break a chemical bond is modeled by placing
a molecule into a set of mechanical claws. Place one of the hydrogen (H2) molecules
between the claws, and press Break bond.
A. What happens?
B. Look under the Energy absorbed column of the table. How much energy was
required to break this bond?
Note: The energy is given here in units of kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol). This is the
energy, in kilojoules, required to break all of the H–H bonds in one mole of H2 gas.
C. Remove the hydrogen atoms from the claws and then break apart the other H–H
molecule. What is the total energy absorbed so far?
3. Measure: Notice that the oxygen atoms are connected by a double covalent bond. This is
because the oxygen atoms share two pairs of electrons. Place the oxygen molecule in the
claws and press Break bond.
A. How much energy is required to break the first O–O bond?
B. Press Break bond. How much energy is needed to break both bonds?
C. What is the total energy required to break up two moles of H2 molecules and one
mole of O2 molecules?
Because the water heated up, the heat energy is released. If
it had been absorbed then the water would have gotten
colder.
The claws applied force in opposite direct of
about 400+ kJ/mol to break the bond.
436
kJ/mol
872 kJ/mol
349 kJ/mol
495 kJ/mol
1,367 kJ/mol2019
(Activity A continued on next page)2019
Activity A (continued from previous page)
4. Create: Remove the two oxygen atoms from the claws. Now the claws disappear and you
see a template for creating a water molecule. Drag an oxygen and a hydrogen atom into the
template. (If necessary, use the Key on the right-hand side as a reference.)
A. Click Create bond. What happens?
B. The “jiggling” animation you see represents the release of kinetic energy that occurs
when a bond is formed. How much energy was released?
C. Drag another hydrogen molecule into the template and click Create bond to make a
water molecule. What is the total energy released so far?
D. Drag the first water molecule away from the template, then use the Gizmo to create a
second water molecule. What is the total energy released now?
5. Calculate: Compare the energy absorbed in breaking up the molecules to the energy
released when new bonds are formed.
A. In this reaction, was more energy absorbed or released?
B. How does this relate to the change in temperature observed for this reaction?
C. The change in enthalpy (∆H) of the system is equal to the total energy absorbed
minus the total energy released. What is the ∆H value for this reaction?
Compa
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