Question

Since most chemical reactions are conducted in containers open to the armisphere, why is the energy transfer associated with a chemical reaction generally expressed as the change in enthalpy?



Is it because the enthalpy of reaction measures the change in energy of a chemical reaction and disregards the energy of the surroundings?

Answer 1

What you say may be right but I believe a better answer is that chemical rxns carried out in an open container do so at constant pressure. The enthalpy, q_p is delta H. Energy carried out at constant volume, (in a bomb), q_v measured delta E.