Endothermic vs.

exothermic reactions
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Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions

Let's see what Sam and Julie are up to in the chemistry lab.

Image titled chemistry lab: experiments are fun.

Excited but bit confused, Sam and Julie run to their chemistry teacher. Sam asks,
Teacher, why did my flask turn cold after adding the salt to water, while Julies flask
turned hot?
The teacher replied: Thats because both of you were given two different salts and
one of your salts generated anendothermic reaction with water, while the other salt
generated an exothermic reaction with water. Let me first reveal the identity of your
salts: Salt A is ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) and Salt B is calcium chloride (CaCl2).
Now, Sam and Julie were curious about the difference between an endothermic and
an exothermic reaction.
Consider the reaction mixture (salt + water) as the system and the flask as
the surrounding.
In Sams case; when ammonium nitrate was dissolved in water, the system absorbed
heat from the surrounding(flask) and thus the flask felt cold. This is an example of an
endothermic reaction. On the contrary, in Julies case; when calcium chloride was
dissolved in water, the system released heat into the surroundings (flask) and thus
the flask felt hot. This is an example of an exothermic reaction.
The reaction going on in Sams flask can be represented as:

NH4NO3 (s) + heat ---> NH4+ (aq) + NO3- (aq)

So as you can see, heat is absorbed during the above reaction, lowering the
temperature of the reaction mixture, and thus the reaction flask feels cold.
The reaction going on in Julies flask can be represented as:

CaCl2 (s) + 2(H2O) ---> Ca(OH)2 (aq) + 2 HCl (g) + heat

In this case, heat is released during the reaction, elevating the temperature of the
reaction mixture, and thus Julies reaction flask feels hot.
The teachers final comment to Sam and Julie about this experiment was When
trying to classify a reaction as exothermic or endothermic, watch how the
temperature of the surrounding (flask) changes. An exothermic process releases
heat, and causes the temperature of the immediate surroundings to rise. An
endothermic process absorbs heat and cools the surroundings.

So based on the above definition, let us pick a few examples from our daily lives and
categorize them as endothermic/exothermic.

Endothermic reactions (heat is absorbed)

1) Photosynthesis: plants absorb heat energy from sunlight to convert carbon
dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen

6CO2 + 6 H2O + heat ---> C6H12O6 + 6O2

2) Cooking an egg: Heat energy is absorbed from the pan to cook the egg

Exothermic reactions (heat is released)

1) Combustion: the burning of carbon containing compounds uses oxygen (from air)
and produces carbon dioxide, water and lots of heat. eg: combustion of methane
(CH_{4}4start subscript, 4, end subscript) can be represented as follows:

CH4 + 2(O2) ---> CO2 + 2H2O + heat

2) Rain: condensation of water vapor into rain releases energy in the form of heat is
an example of an exothermic process

Why is heat released or absorbed in a chemical

reaction?
In any chemical reaction, chemical bonds are either broken or formed. And the rule
of thumb is: When chemical bonds are formed, heat is released and when chemical
bonds are broken, heat is absorbed. Molecules inherently want to stay together, so
formation of chemical bonds between molecules requires less energy as compared to
breaking bonds between molecules, which requires more energy and results in heat
being absorbed from the surroundings.

What happens when water goes through the three

different states of matter?
Image of an ice cube melting into water, and the water being boiled to release steam
(different chemical phases) as heat is absorbed or released.
Bonds between water molecules have to be broken when we go from ice (solid) to
water (liquid) to water vapor (gas) state. As we know now that breaking bonds
requires energy so in this process heat is absorbed from the surroundings, making
these reactions endothermic in nature. On the other hand, going from water vapor
(gas) to water (liquid) to ice (solid) requires formation of chemical bonds between

water molecules, and this process releases heat energy making the reverse process
exothermic in nature.

What is enthalpy of a reaction?

Enthalpy of a reaction is defined as the heat energy change (H) that takes place
when reactants go to products. If heat is absorbed during the reaction, H is positive,
and if heat is released, then H is negative.

H value negative --> energy released --> exothermic reactionH value positive -->
energy absorbed --> endothermic reaction
H = H (bonds broken in reactants) - H (bonds made in products)
Let us understand this through an example. Lets calculate the enthalpy change (H)
for the following reaction:
H2(g) + F2(g) = 2HF
The information provided to us is: The bond energy (in kilojoules kJ) for H2, F2, and
HF are 436, 158 and 568 kJ/ mole respectively.
Lets first figure out whats happening in this particular reaction. Looking at the
chemical reaction, its clear that one mole of H-H and one mole of F-F bonds are
being broken to generate two moles of H-F bonds. Breaking of bonds requires
absorption of energy, while formation of bonds releases energy.
So, To break one mole of H2, energy absorbed is 436 kJ
To break one mole of F2, energy absorbed is 158 kJ
To form two moles of HF, energy released is 2 X (568) kJ
So applying the equation, H = H _{(bonds broken in reactants)}
(bondsbrokeninreactants)start subscript, left
parenthesis, b, o, n, d, s, b, r, o, k, e, n, i, n, r, e, a, c, t, a, n, t, s, right
parenthesis, end subscript - H _{(bonds made in products)}
(bondsmadeinproducts)start subscript, left
parenthesis, b, o, n, d, s, m, a, d, e, i, n, p, r, o, d, u, c, t, s, right parenthesis, end
subscript
H_{reaction}reactionstart subscript, r, e, a, c, t, i, o, n, end subscript = (436 +
158) (2 X 568) = -542 kJ
The overall enthalpy of the reaction is negative i.e. its an exothermic reaction where
energy is released in the form of heat.

Depiction of an energy diagram

In a chemical reaction, some bonds are broken and some bonds are formed. During
the course of the reaction there exists an intermediate stage, where chemical bonds
are partially broken and partially formed. This intermediate exists at a higher energy
level than the starting reactants; it is very unstable and is referred to as the

transition state. The energy required to reach this transition state is called activation
energy (E_{act}actstart subscript, a, c, t, end subscript). So, we can define
activation energy as the minimum amount of energy required to initiate a reaction
and it is denoted by E_{act}actstart subscript, a, c, t, end subscript.
An energy diagram can be defined as a diagram showing the relative potential
energies of reactants, transition states, and products as the reaction progresses with
time. One can calculate the E_{act}actstart subscript, a, c, t, end subscript and H
for any reaction from its energy diagram.
Lets draw an energy diagram for the following reaction:

Activation energy graph for: CO (g) + NO2 (g) ---> CO2 (g) + NO (g)
The activation energy is the difference in the energy between the transition state
and the reactants. Its depicted with a red arrow. The enthalpy change (H) of the
reaction is depicted with a green arrow. So, now you should be able to clearly
differentiate between E_{act}actstart subscript, a, c, t, end subscript and H on an
energy diagram.

Energy diagrams for endothermic and exothermic

reactions
In the case of an endothermic reaction, the reactants are at a lower energy level as
compared to the products (as shown in the energy diagram below). In other words,
the products are less stable than the reactants. Since we are forcing the reaction in
the forward direction towards more unstable entities, overall H for the reaction is
positive i.e. energy is absorbed from the surroundings.

Image of a graph showing potential energy in relation to the process of a chemical

reaction.
In the case of an exothermic reaction, the reactants are at a higher energy level as
compared to the products as shown below in the energy diagram. In other words, the
products are more stable than the reactants. Overall H for the reaction is negative
i.e. energy is released in the form of heat.

graph showing potential energy and progress of a reaction over time.

Attribution