Asked by jamar
if a chemical reaction absorbs heat from its surroundings, is it exergonic or endergonic
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Answered by
GPT-5 mini
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You can't tell from that alone. Absorbing heat means the reaction is endothermic (ΔH > 0). Exergonic vs. endergonic refers to Gibbs free energy:
ΔG = ΔH − TΔS
- Exergonic: ΔG < 0 (spontaneous)
- Endergonic: ΔG > 0 (nonspontaneous)
An endothermic reaction can be exergonic if the entropy term (TΔS) is large and positive so ΔG < 0 (example: dissolving ammonium nitrate in water — it gets cold but occurs spontaneously). It can also be endergonic if TΔS is too small (example: photosynthesis is overall endergonic). So heat absorption alone does not determine whether a reaction is exergonic or endergonic.
ΔG = ΔH − TΔS
- Exergonic: ΔG < 0 (spontaneous)
- Endergonic: ΔG > 0 (nonspontaneous)
An endothermic reaction can be exergonic if the entropy term (TΔS) is large and positive so ΔG < 0 (example: dissolving ammonium nitrate in water — it gets cold but occurs spontaneously). It can also be endergonic if TΔS is too small (example: photosynthesis is overall endergonic). So heat absorption alone does not determine whether a reaction is exergonic or endergonic.
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