Chemistry / Unit 4 Chem 0675 short lesson, about 20 seconds
State Function
Captions available
The idea
A state function is a property whose value depends only on a system's current state, not the path taken to reach it.
In practice
A hiker's elevation on a mountain is identical whether the trail taken was direct or roundabout, unlike distance walked.
Where people slip
Heat and work each depend on the path taken, so neither alone is a state function, unlike their combined internal-energy change.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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