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kasse
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Why is it that the change in enthalpy and entropy of a reaction often can be assumed not to depend on temperature?
Enthalpy is a thermodynamic property that describes the total energy of a system. It takes into account both the internal energy and the work done by or on the system.
In a chemical reaction, the enthalpy can either increase or decrease. An increase in enthalpy is called an endothermic reaction, where energy is absorbed from the surroundings. A decrease in enthalpy is called an exothermic reaction, where energy is released to the surroundings.
Entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness in a system. It is a thermodynamic property that increases with the number of microstates available to a system.
In a physical process, like melting or vaporization, the entropy of a system increases because the number of microstates increases as the molecules become more disordered.
The relationship between enthalpy and entropy is described by the Gibbs free energy equation, ΔG = ΔH - TΔS. This equation shows that for a spontaneous reaction to occur, there must be a decrease in enthalpy and an increase in entropy.