Nimo

Study smarter with Nimo

Personalised revision that adapts to you. Ace your revision with unlimited practice questions that are designed to help you learn faster. We're slowly rolling out to more and more students.

Try Nimo

Uses and applications of energy changes

Energy changes • Exothermic and endothermic reactions

Key concepts

What you'll likely be quizzed about

  • Exothermic reactions release thermal energy because the products possess lower total energy than the reactants, resulting in excess energy that warms the surroundings.
  • In contrast, endothermic reactions absorb thermal energy as products have higher total energy than reactants, drawing heat from the surroundings and reducing temperature.

Flashcards

Test your knowledge with interactive flashcards

How do by-products affect suitability?

Click to reveal answer

Harmful or corrosive by-products can restrict use in confined spaces and increase necessary disposal costs.

Key notes

Important points to keep in mind

Exothermic → releases heat; endothermic → absorbs heat.

Compare ΔH per mole; convert to energy per device for accurate comparisons.

Rapid reactions yield quick temperature changes; controllability often compromises speed.

Activation energy and catalysts dictate practical reactions at ambient conditions.

Assess by-products, toxicity, and waste management for application suitability.

Heat transfer efficiency influences usable temperature changes.

Reversible systems support storage and repeated use; irreversible systems are for single-use.

Cost of reactants can overshadow theoretical energy benefits.

Built with v0