Why is water melting a spontaneous but endergonic reaction?
Question:
Why is water melting a spontaneous but endergonic reaction?
Spontaneous Process:
Every chemical reaction and phase change has an associated free energy change {eq}\Delta G {/eq}. This free energy change depends on three important values. The first value is the enthalpy change {eq}\Delta H {/eq}, which describes whether the process is endothermic or exothermic relative to its surroundings. The second value is the entorpy change {eq}\Delta S {/eq}, which describes the net increase or decrease in the available number of energetic microstates. Finally, there is the reaction temperature, which can significantly vary. Some processes are only spontaneous at sufficiently high or low temperature values, which means that {eq}\Delta G < 0 {/eq} and the process is product favored in the equilibrium.
Answer and Explanation: 1
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View this answerThe melting of water is a phase change written as:
{eq}\rm H_2O (s) \leftrightharpoons H_2O (l) {/eq}
This is an endothermic process, which the...
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Chapter 12 / Lesson 8Spontaneous reactions are processes that occur on their own without any outside interference. Review the definition of the spontaneous process, explore concepts such as enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy, and learn how to predict a spontaneous reaction.