Thermo

Thermochemistry

The study of heat absorbed and released during a chemical reaction.

Heat

The potential or capacity to do work, associated with energy.

Energy

The potential or capacity to do work, existing in various forms.

Work

A force acting through a distance.

Enthalpy (ΔH)

A measure of the heat content of a system at constant pressure.

Entropy (ΔS)

A measure of the disorder or randomness in a system.

Gibbs Free Energy (ΔG)

A thermodynamic potential that predicts whether a process is spontaneous.

Kinetic Energy

The energy of motion.

Thermal Energy

The energy associated with the temperature of a substance.

Potential Energy

Stored energy associated with the position of an object.

Chemical Energy

Energy stored in chemical bonds.

Conservation of Energy

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.

System

The part of the universe undergoing change, which can exchange energy with the surroundings.

Surroundings

Everything outside the system that can exchange energy with it.

First Law of Thermodynamics

The total energy of the universe is a constant; energy can be transformed but not created or destroyed.

State Function

A property whose value depends only on the state of the system, not how it reached that state.

Internal Energy (E)

The sum of the kinetic and potential energies of the particles in a system.

Change in Internal Energy (ΔE)

The difference between the final and initial internal energy of a system.

Exothermic Process

A process that releases heat, resulting in a decrease in internal energy.

Endothermic Process

A process that absorbs heat, resulting in an increase in internal energy.

Heat Capacity (C)

The quantity of heat required to change a substance's temperature by one degree Celsius.

Specific Heat

The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius.

Molar Heat Capacity

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one mole of a substance by one degree Celsius.

Calorimetry

The science of measuring the amount of heat absorbed or released in a reaction.

Pressure Volume Work

Work done by or on a system due to a change in volume against an external pressure.

Calorimeter

An instrument used to measure the amount of heat involved in a chemical reaction.

Coffee Cup Calorimetry

A type of calorimetry performed at constant pressure.

Enthalpy Change (ΔH)

The heat absorbed or released under constant pressure during a reaction.

Delta T (ΔT)

The change in temperature, equal to the final temperature minus the initial temperature.

Heat (Q)

The energy transferred due to a temperature difference.