Hess’s law is really just another statement of the first law of thermodynamics. Explain.

Hess's law states that the total enthalpy change (ΔH) during a chemical reaction is the same whether the reaction occurs in one step or multiple steps. It means that the change in enthalpy of a reaction solely depends on the initial and final states of the reactants and products (state function).

The first law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of conservation of energy, states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but it can only be transformed between different forms (such as chemical, kinetic and potential energy). In a closed system, the total energy remains constant.

Both Hess's law and the first law of thermodynamics involve the concept of conservation of energy. The first law of thermodynamics implies that the total energy change in a system is equal to the sum of the energy transferred as heat (q) and the work done (w) by or on the system. ΔE = q + w Enthalpy (H) is a state function and is related to energy (E), pressure (P), and volume (V) by H = E + PV. So, a change in enthalpy (ΔH) in a reaction can be connected to the change in energy (ΔE) of the system. Hess's law can now be related to the first law of thermodynamics by observing that both laws deal with conservation of energy: Hess's law focuses on enthalpy change, while the first law focuses on energy change. Since enthalpy change is related to energy change, Hess's law can be seen as another statement of the first law of thermodynamics.

In conclusion, Hess's law is related to the first law of thermodynamics as both laws revolve around the conservation of energy in a system. Hess's law specifically relates to enthalpy change in a reaction, while the first law of thermodynamics is more general and deals with the overall energy change in a closed system. Thus, Hess's law can be seen as just another statement of the first law of thermodynamics.