1.4.2

Bond Breaking and Making

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Bond Breaking and Making

The basis of chemical reactions is a series of bond breaking and making.

Bond enthalpies

Bond enthalpies

  • During a reaction, some chemical bonds must be broken and made.
  • The energy to break or make a bond is known as the bond enthalpy.
    • Energy is needed to break a bond so it is an endothermic process.
    • Energy is given off when a bond is made so it is an exothermic process.
  • The enthalpy change of a reaction is a sum of the individual bond enthalpies being broken and made during the reaction.
The dominating term

The dominating term

  • During a chemical reaction, we must determine whether the reaction requires more energy to break bonds or to make bonds.
    • This will give an overall reaction enthalpy that is either positive or negative.
Endothermic vs exothermic

Endothermic vs exothermic

  • Since bond breaking is endothermic and bond making is exothermic:
    • More energy required to break bonds in a reaction will lead to an overall endothermic reaction.
    • More energy released making bonds in a reaction will lead to an overall exothermic reaction.
Jump to other topics
1

Physical Chemistry

1.1

Atomic Structure

1.2

Amount of Substance

1.3

Bonding

1.4

Energetics

1.5

Kinetics

1.6

Equilibria

1.7

Redox

2

Physical Chemistry 2 (A2 Only)

3

Inorganic Chemistry

4

Inorganic Chemistry 2 (A2 Only)

5

Organic Chemistry 1

6

Organic Chemistry 2 (A2 Only)

6.1

Optical Isomerism (A2 Only)

6.2

Aldehydes & Ketones (A2 Only)

6.3

Carboxylic Acids & Esters (A2 Only)

6.4

Aromatic Chemistry (A2 Only)

6.5

Amines (A2 Only)

6.6

Polymers (A2 Only)

6.7

Biological Organic (A2 Only)

6.8

Organic Synthesis (A2 Only)

6.9

NMR Spectroscopy (A2 Only)

6.10

Chromatography (A2 Only)

6.11

A-A* (AO3/4) - Organic 2

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