Skip to main content

Physical State in a Thermochemical Equation

This video presents the same text shown beside it, spoken and on screen. It adds nothing the text does not say.

State

A reaction's enthalpy change depends on the physical states of every reactant and product, so a thermochemical equation must show them.

Show

Forming liquid water from hydrogen and oxygen releases 286 kJ per mole, but forming water vapor from those elements releases only 242 kJ.

Watch for

Omitting a state label from a thermochemical equation leaves its ΔH value ambiguous between two different quantities.