Entropy Calculation in Chemical Reactions

What is the process to calculate the change in entropy of the universe for a chemical reaction?

To calculate the change in entropy of the universe for a chemical reaction, we need to determine the change in entropy of the system and the surroundings and then add them together.

Calculating ΔS_system

ΔS_system is the change in entropy of the system and is determined by the difference between the sum of the entropies of the products and the sum of the entropies of the reactants in the chemical reaction. This can be calculated using the formula:
ΔS_system = ΣS(products) - ΣS(reactants) In the given example reaction of 2 CO(g) + O₂(g) → 2 CO₂(g), we have 2 moles of CO₂ as the product. We can substitute the entropies of the products and reactants into the formula to find ΔS_system. Given the entropy values for CO₂, CO, and O₂, we can calculate ΔS_system to be -392 J/mol·K.

Calculating ΔS_surroundings

ΔS_surroundings is the change in entropy of the surroundings and is calculated using the formula:
ΔS_surroundings = -ΔH°/T In the reaction, we are given the standard enthalpy change (ΔH°) as -566 kJ and the temperature (T) as 298 K. By substituting these values into the formula, we determine that ΔS_surroundings is 1.9 kJ/K.

Calculating ΔS_universe

Finally, we can calculate the change in entropy of the universe (ΔS_universe) by adding ΔS_system and ΔS_surroundings together. Hence, the formula to calculate ΔS_universe is:
ΔS_universe = ΔS_system + ΔS_surroundings By performing the calculations and adding the values of ΔS_system and ΔS_surroundings (-392 J/mol·K and 1.9 kJ/K respectively), we find that ΔS_universe for the given reaction is -392 J/K.
← Constant net torque and rotating objects understanding angular motion The voltage potential in a 120 240 volts 1 phase 3 wire system →