If a reaction is exothermic and there is a great disorder, it means that
If a reaction is exothermic and there is a great disorder, it means that
- A) The reaction is in a state of equilibrium.
- B) There will be a large increase in free energy.
- C) There will be a large decrease in free energy.
- D) The reaction is static.
Correct Answer: B) There will be a large increase in free energy.
Explanation
In this question, we are given that the reaction is exothermic and there is a great disorder. We need to understand what these terms mean and how they relate to free energy change in a reaction.
Anexothermic reaction is a reaction that releases heat to the surroundings. In such reactions, the energy of the products is less than the energy of the reactants, which means that the overall change in energy is negative (?H < 0).
Disorder in a reaction refers to the entropy change (?S). A great disorder implies that there is a large increase in entropy, which means that the products are more disordered than the reactants. A significant increase in entropy is associated with a positive value of ?S.
Now, let's consider the concept offree energy (?G), which determines the spontaneity of a reaction. The relationship between free energy, enthalpy, and entropy is given by the following equation:
\[\Delta G = \Delta H - T\Delta S\]
Where ?G is the free energy change, ?H is the enthalpy change, T is the temperature in Kelvin, and ?S is the entropy change. A negative value of ?G indicates a spontaneous reaction, while a positive value indicates a non-spontaneous reaction.
Since the reaction is exothermic (?H 0), the equation becomes:
\[\Delta G = (-) - (+)\]This implies that there will be a large increase in free energy (?G > 0), which corresponds toOption B.

