CHEM101: General Chemistry I

6.2: Thermodynamics

• 6.2.1: The First Law of Thermodynamics

  • Stephen Lower's "General Chemistry Virtual Textbook: The First Law of Thermodynamics"

    Read this webpage. The first law of thermodynamics is sometimes referred to as the law of conservation of energy. It states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, but it may change form. For example, imagine a campfire: the energy is stored in chemical bonds in the wood, and is released as light and heat.
    

  • Khan Academy: "First Law of Thermodynamics/Internal Energy" Page

    Watch this lecture to reinforce the concepts covered in the reading assignment. The concepts of exothermic and endothermic reactions are covered.
    

• 6.2.2: The Second Law of Thermodynamics

  • Stephen Lower's "General Chemistry Virtual Textbook: The Second Law of Thermodynamics: The Availability of Energy"

    Read this webpage. The second law of thermodynamics deals with heat transfer and also explains why a perpetual motion machine can never exist.
    

• 6.2.3: Entropy and the Third Law of Thermodynamics

  • Stephen Lower's "General Chemistry Virtual Textbook: What is Entropy?"

    Read this webpage. This material gives a detailed description of entropy and how it relates to the system and surroundings. The third law of thermodynamics deals with a theoretical absolute zero state, which is a physical impossibility.
    

• 6.2.4: Gibbs Free Energy

  • Stephen Lower's "General Chemistry Virtual Textbook: The Gibbs Function (Gibbs Energy): Free Energy"

    Read this webpage. The Gibbs free energy equation predicts whether a reaction will happen spontaneously or not. Gibbs free energy applies to reactions of every magnitude, from water freezing to industrial chemical processes. It is important to note that whereas a reaction may be predicted to be spontaneous, the reaction rate may be very slow however. 
    

  • Khan Academy: "Gibbs Free Energy and Spontaneity" and "Gibbs Free Energy Example" Page

    Watch these two videos to reinforce the concepts covered in the reading assignment. If the computed change in Gibbs free energy is negative for a chemical reaction, then the reaction is spontaneous.