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Chapter 52: Problem 1

Do you expect \(\Delta S\) for the following reaction to be positive or negative? Explain your reasoning. $$ \mathrm{N}(\mathrm{g})+2 \mathrm{O}(\mathrm{g}) \rightleftarrows \mathrm{NO}_{2}(\mathrm{~g}) $$

Short Answer

Expert verified
The entropy change, \(\Delta S\) for the given reaction is expected to be negative since the number of gas molecules decreases during the reaction, which corresponds to a decrease in disorder or randomness in the system.

Step by step solution

01

Identify the initial and final state

Start by identifying the initial and final state of the reaction. In the given reaction, we start with one gas molecule of Nitrogen (\(N\)) and two gas molecules of Oxygen (\(O\)), i.e., a total of three gas molecules. The reaction produces one gas molecule of Nitrogen Dioxide (\(NO_2\)).
02

Compare the final and initial states

Next, you compare the final state and initial state. We started with three gas molecules and ended up with one molecule of \(NO_2\). Since the number of moles of gaseous substances decreased during this reaction, the total amount of disorder or randomness in the system has decreased.
03

Determine the sign of \(\Delta S\)

Based on the comparison from step 2, you can draw conclusions about the entropy change. A decrease in disorder or randomness corresponds to a negative change in entropy, \(\Delta S\), according to the definition of entropy. Hence, we can conclude that for this reaction \(\Delta S<0\), meaning the entropy change is negative.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Complete the diagram below, similar to that in Model 2, to depict \(\Delta S^{\circ}\) for the reaction: $$ \mathrm{A}_{2} \mathrm{X}_{2}(\mathrm{~g})+\mathrm{B}_{2}(\mathrm{~g}) \rightleftarrows 2 \mathrm{XB}(\mathrm{g})+\mathrm{A}_{2}(\mathrm{~g}) $$

Do you expect \(\Delta S\) for the following reaction to be positive or negative? Explain your reasoning. $$ \mathrm{N}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{4}(\mathrm{~g}) \rightleftarrows 2 \mathrm{NO}_{2}(\mathrm{~g}) $$

Why do the entropies of atom combination generally become more negative as the number of atoms in the molecule increases?

Why is \(\Delta S_{\mathrm{ac}}^{\circ}\) of \(\mathrm{N}(\mathrm{g})=0\) ?
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