# 0.12 Measuring energy changes in chemical reactions  (Page 8/8)

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However, we do get a clearer understanding of why adding the reaction energies together gives the total energy of the overall reaction. Hess’ Law is a consequence of the Law of Conservation of Energy.

## Using hess’ law to measure reaction energy

It may be hard to remember now, but we started out with observations leading to Hess’ Law because we wanted to find a way to measure the energy of a reaction which can’t easily be found using calorimetry. Some reactions require special conditions which are hard to create in a laboratory where we can make measurements. We gave as an example fermentation of glucose to lactic acid:

${\text{2}}_{\text{2}}{\text{C}}_{\text{6}}{\text{H}}_{\text{12}}{\text{O}}_{\text{6}}{\text{→ 2 CH}}_{\text{3}}\text{CHOHCOOH}$

As we noted above, we can’t simply put glucose in a beaker and wait for it to turn into lactic acid and measure a temperature change of a water bath. The reaction just doesn’t happen without the assistance of enzymes in a cell.

So let’s use Hess’ Law, since we know that the energy of [link] will be the same as the sum of the energies of any set of reactions which adds up to [link] . We just need to pick some reactions which are easy to carry out in the laboratory so that we can measure the energies of these reactions.

The easiest reactions to conduct, particularly with molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, are almost always combustion reactions. We can pretty easily burn these compounds, reacting them with oxygen to form CO 2 (g) and H 2 O(g). We can also pretty easily measure the energies of these combustion reactions using calorimetry, just like before.

Here is what the experiments give us:

${\text{C}}_{\text{6}}{\text{H}}_{\text{12}}{\text{O}}_{\text{6}}{\text{(s) + 6O}}_{\text{2}}{\text{(g) → 6CO}}_{\text{2}}{\text{(g) + 6H}}_{\text{2}}\text{O(g)}$
${\text{2 CH}}_{\text{3}}{\text{CHOHCOOH + 6O}}_{\text{2}}{\text{(g) → 6CO}}_{\text{2}}{\text{(g) + 6H}}_{\text{2}}\text{O(g)}$

We can now follow a two step process which is equivalent to converting one glucose molecule into two lactic acid molecules. First, we burn the glucose, and the energy evolved is -2808 kJ. Second, hypothetically, we convert the CO 2 (g) and H 2 O(g) into lactic acid and oxygen. Although we can’t really do that hypothetical reaction, we don’t need to. The energy of that second step is just the negative of the energy we measure for the combustion of two moles of lactic acid, which is -2668 kJ. Using Hess’ Law, the overall energy for converting glucose to lactic acid then is just the measured energy of [link] plus the negative of the measured energy of [link] . This is equal to -140 kJ. We now have a means to measure the energy of a reaction which we can actually carry out!

This is a fairly general approach, applicable to most materials. By measuring the energies of combustion reactions and then summing those combustion reactions, we can calculate the energy of an overall reaction.

## Review and discussion questions

1. How can the temperature of water be elevated by doing work on it? Devise a way to measure the amount work required to raise the temperature of a sample of water by 1°C.
2. Assume you have two samples of two different metals, X and Z. The samples are exactly the same mass.

(a) Both samples are heated to the same temperature. Then each sample is placed into separate glasses containing identical quantities of cold water, initially at identical temperatures below that of the metals. The final temperature of the water containing metal X is greater than the final temperature of the water containing metal Z. Which of the two metals has the larger heat capacity? Explain your conclusion.

(b) If each sample, initially at the same temperature, is heated with exactly 100 J of energy, which sample has the higher final temperature?

3. Using data from [link] , provide two reasons with explanation why a hot object is much more efficiently cooled by placing it in water than leaving it in the open air, even when the air and the water are at the same temperature initially.
4. Explain how Hess' Law is a consequence of conservation of energy.
5. The enthalpy of formation of sucrose C 6 H 12 O 6 cannot be measured by the direct reaction of carbon, hydrogen and oxyben. Devise a method to measure ∆H f for sucrose. What would you measure and how do these measured quantities relate to the ∆H f for sucrose?

Is there any normative that regulates the use of silver nanoparticles?
what king of growth are you checking .?
Renato
What fields keep nano created devices from performing or assimulating ? Magnetic fields ? Are do they assimilate ?
why we need to study biomolecules, molecular biology in nanotechnology?
?
Kyle
yes I'm doing my masters in nanotechnology, we are being studying all these domains as well..
why?
what school?
Kyle
biomolecules are e building blocks of every organics and inorganic materials.
Joe
anyone know any internet site where one can find nanotechnology papers?
research.net
kanaga
sciencedirect big data base
Ernesto
Introduction about quantum dots in nanotechnology
what does nano mean?
nano basically means 10^(-9). nanometer is a unit to measure length.
Bharti
do you think it's worthwhile in the long term to study the effects and possibilities of nanotechnology on viral treatment?
absolutely yes
Daniel
how to know photocatalytic properties of tio2 nanoparticles...what to do now
it is a goid question and i want to know the answer as well
Maciej
Abigail
for teaching engĺish at school how nano technology help us
Anassong
Do somebody tell me a best nano engineering book for beginners?
there is no specific books for beginners but there is book called principle of nanotechnology
NANO
what is fullerene does it is used to make bukky balls
are you nano engineer ?
s.
fullerene is a bucky ball aka Carbon 60 molecule. It was name by the architect Fuller. He design the geodesic dome. it resembles a soccer ball.
Tarell
what is the actual application of fullerenes nowadays?
Damian
That is a great question Damian. best way to answer that question is to Google it. there are hundreds of applications for buck minister fullerenes, from medical to aerospace. you can also find plenty of research papers that will give you great detail on the potential applications of fullerenes.
Tarell
what is the Synthesis, properties,and applications of carbon nano chemistry
Mostly, they use nano carbon for electronics and for materials to be strengthened.
Virgil
is Bucky paper clear?
CYNTHIA
carbon nanotubes has various application in fuel cells membrane, current research on cancer drug,and in electronics MEMS and NEMS etc
NANO
so some one know about replacing silicon atom with phosphorous in semiconductors device?
Yeah, it is a pain to say the least. You basically have to heat the substarte up to around 1000 degrees celcius then pass phosphene gas over top of it, which is explosive and toxic by the way, under very low pressure.
Harper
Do you know which machine is used to that process?
s.
how to fabricate graphene ink ?
for screen printed electrodes ?
SUYASH
What is lattice structure?
of graphene you mean?
Ebrahim
or in general
Ebrahim
in general
s.
Graphene has a hexagonal structure
tahir
On having this app for quite a bit time, Haven't realised there's a chat room in it.
Cied
what is biological synthesis of nanoparticles
how did you get the value of 2000N.What calculations are needed to arrive at it
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