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Ch.10 - Chemical Bonding I: The Lewis Model
Chapter 10, Problem 105b

If hydrogen were used as a fuel, it could be burned according to this reaction: H2(g) + 1/2 O2(g) → H2O(g) Use average bond energies to calculate ΔHrxn for the combustion of methane (CH4).

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1
Identify the bonds broken and formed in the reaction. For the combustion of methane (CH_4), the bonds broken are C-H and O=O, and the bonds formed are C=O and O-H.
Use the average bond energies to calculate the total energy required to break the bonds in the reactants. For CH_4, calculate the energy for breaking four C-H bonds and one O=O bond.
Calculate the total energy released when the bonds in the products are formed. For CO_2 and H_2O, calculate the energy for forming two C=O bonds and four O-H bonds.
Apply the formula for the enthalpy change of the reaction: \( \Delta H_{rxn} = \text{Total energy of bonds broken} - \text{Total energy of bonds formed} \).
Substitute the bond energies into the formula and solve for \( \Delta H_{rxn} \) to find the enthalpy change for the combustion of methane.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Bond Energies

Bond energies refer to the amount of energy required to break a bond between two atoms in a molecule. In chemical reactions, the total energy required to break bonds in the reactants is compared to the energy released when new bonds are formed in the products. This concept is crucial for calculating the enthalpy change (ΔH) of a reaction, as it allows us to estimate the energy changes involved.
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Enthalpy Change (ΔH)

Enthalpy change (ΔH) is a measure of the heat content change during a chemical reaction at constant pressure. It can be calculated using the formula ΔH = Σ(bond energies of reactants) - Σ(bond energies of products). A negative ΔH indicates an exothermic reaction, where energy is released, while a positive ΔH indicates an endothermic reaction, where energy is absorbed.
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Combustion Reactions

Combustion reactions are exothermic reactions that typically involve a hydrocarbon reacting with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water. In the case of hydrogen combustion, the reaction produces water vapor. Understanding the stoichiometry of combustion reactions is essential for calculating the energy changes and determining the efficiency of fuels, such as hydrogen.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

Some theories of aging suggest that free radicals cause certain diseases and perhaps aging in general. As you know from the Lewis model, such molecules are not chemically stable and will quickly react with other molecules. According to certain theories, free radicals may attack molecules within the cell, such as DNA, changing them and causing cancer or other diseases. Free radicals may also attack molecules on the surfaces of cells, making them appear foreign to the body's immune system. The immune system then attacks the cells and destroys them, weakening the body. Draw Lewis structures for each free radical implicated in this theory of aging. d. CH3OO (unpaired electron on terminal oxygen)

Textbook Question

Free radicals are important in many environmentally significant reactions (see the Chemistry in the Environment box on free radicals in this chapter). For example, photochemical smog— smog that results from the action of sunlight on air pollutants— forms in part by these two steps:

The product of this reaction, ozone, is a pollutant in the lower atmosphere. (Upper atmospheric ozone is a natural part of the atmosphere that protects life on Earth from ultraviolet light.) Ozone is an eye and lung irritant and also accelerates the weathering of rubber products. Rewrite the given reactions using the Lewis structure of each reactant and product. Identify the free radicals.

Textbook Question

If hydrogen were used as a fuel, it could be burned according to this reaction: H2(g) + 1/2 O2(g) → H2O(g) Use average bond energies to calculate ΔHrxn for this reaction.

Textbook Question

If hydrogen were used as a fuel, it could be burned according to this reaction: H2(g) + 1/2 O2(g) → H2O(g) Which fuel yields more energy per mole?

Textbook Question

If hydrogen were used as a fuel, it could be burned according to this reaction: H2(g) + 1/2 O2(g) → H2O(g) Which fuel yields more energy per gram?

Textbook Question

Calculate ΔHrxn for the combustion of octane (C8H18), a component of gasoline, by using average bond energies and then calculate it using enthalpies of formation from Appendix IIB. What is the percent difference between your results? Which result would you expect to be more accurate?