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LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET IN GENERAL CHEMISTRY 2

4th Quarter – Week 1- Lesson 1
(Spontaneous Change, Entropy and Free Energy)

I. Background Information
In general, we are usually concerned only with what happens in a
particular system and not with the entire universe. Therefore, we need
another thermodynamic function to help us determine whether reaction
will occur spontaneously if we consider only the system itself. Thus, the
spontaneity of reaction seems to involve two thermodynamic concepts:
enthalpy and entropy.
Josiah Willard Gibbs proposed a new state function, now called the
Gibbs free energy or just free energy, G, and defined as
G = H- TS
Where T is the absolute temperature. The use of G predicts changes that
are focused on the system. The change in free energy of the system, ΔG, is
ΔG = ΔH- TΔS
The sign of ΔG provides valuable information about the spontaneity of
processes that occur at constant temperature and pressure. If both T and P
are constant, the relationship between the sign of ΔG and the spontaneity
of a reaction is:
• If ΔG < 0, the reaction is spontaneous in the forward direction.
• If ΔG = 0, the reaction is at equilibrium.
• If ΔG > 0, the reaction in the forward direction is nonspontaneous
(work must be done to make it occur) but the reverse reaction is
spontaneous.
Looking at the equation, if the entropy of the system increases, then
the ΔG of the system will decrease. The direction of spontaneous change
is negative ΔG for system.
So how can spontaneity of a reaction be predicted using Gibbs free
energy change, ΔG? In this context, free energy refers to the availability
to do work. The standard free energy change will occur if the reactants in
their standard states are converted to the products in their standard

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 states. Unless otherwise stated, the ΔH, ΔS, and ΔG refer to the system at
25˚C.

Standard Free Energy of Formation

Standard free energies of
formation (ΔGf˚) for a substance are
the change in free energy that
accompanies the formation of 1 mole
of that substance from its constituent
elements with all reactants and
products in their standard state.
These are very useful in calculating
the standard free-energy change for
chemical processes. The table shows
the conventions used in establishing
standard free energy.
Standard free energies of
formation are useful in calculating
standard free-energy change for chemical processes. The procedure is
analogous to the calculation of standard enthalpy and standard entropy. If
the data for ΔG of formation (ΔG˚) of the reactants and products are
available, the following equation can be used.

where m and n are the stoichiometric coefficients in the reaction and

ΔGf˚ is the standard free energy of formation.
ΔGf˚ is the standard free energy of formation at 25 ˚C and 1 atm for
1 mole of compound formed from its elements. The ΔGf˚ can be used to get
the ΔG of a reaction just like using ΔHf˚ to get ΔH for reaction. The
standard free energy ΔG˚ of element in the standard state is 0. The table
below shows some of the standard molar free energies (ΔGf˚) of selected
compounds at 298 K.

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Let us try solving for ΔG when ΔG are available.
Sample Problem 1
The old camera flash bulb used Mg metal sealed in a bulb with oxygen as shown in
the reaction below:
Mg + ½O2 → MgO
S˚ J/K mol: 32.7 205. 0 26.9
ΔHf ˚ kJ/ mol: 0 0 -601.2

To solve for ΔG, we first need to calculate ΔS˚ and ΔHf ˚.

Calculating the ΔS˚:
ΔS˚ = ΣnS˚ (products) - ΣmS˚ (reactants)
= [(1) S˚ MgO]- [(1) S˚ Mg + (1/2) S˚O2]
= [(1) (26.9)] – [(1) (32.7) + (1/2) (205.0)]
ΔS˚ = -108.3 J/K mol or 0.1083 J/K mol
Calculating the ΔHf˚:
ΔHf˚ = ΣnΔHf˚ (products) - ΣmΔHf˚ (reactants)
= [(1) ΔHf˚MgO] – [ (1) ΔHf˚Mg + (1/2) ΔHf˚O2]
= [(1) -601.2] - [ (1) 0+ (1/2) 0]
ΔHf˚ = -601.2 kJ/mol
Since we already know the value of the change in entropy and standard enthalpy of
formation, we can now solve for Gibbs Free Energy.
Calculating the ΔG:
ΔG = ΔH – TΔS
= 601.2 kJ – (298 K)(-108.3 kJ/ K mol)
= -601.2 kJ + 32.3 kJ
ΔG = -568.9 kJ or -568.9 kJ/ mol
Since the value of ΔG is negative for the reaction, this means that the reaction
occurred spontaneously.

Sample Problem 2
Ozone (O3) in the atmosphere can react with nitric oxide (NO):
O3(g) + NO(g) → NO2(g) + O2(g)
Calculate the G for the reaction at 25˚C or at 298 K.
S˚ = -4.1 J/K mol or -0.0041 kJ/ K mol
ΔHf˚= -199 kJ/ mol

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Calculating the ΔG:
ΔG = ΔH – TΔS
= -199 kJ/ mol – (298 K) (-0.0041 kJ/ K mol)
ΔG = -197.8 kJ or kJ/mol
The value of ΔG is negative for the reaction, which means also that the reaction
occurred spontaneously.
Now, let us try solving ΔG using the standard free energy of formation.

Sample Problem 3
What is the change in free energy of the formation of copper (1) oxide from copper
and oxygen as shown in the reaction below?
Cu(g) + ½ O2(g) → CuO(s)
ΔGf˚ kJ/ mol: 0 0 -127
Calculating ΔGf˚:
ΔG˚= ΣnΔGf˚ (products) - ΣmΔGf˚ (reactants)
= [(1) ΔGf˚ CuO]- [(1) ΔGf˚ Cu + (1/2) ΔGf˚O2]
= [(1) (-127)] – [(1) (0) + (1/2) (0)]
ΔG˚ = -127 kJ/mol
Negative ΔG means that the reaction will occur but because it is very slow at room
temperature, it can take years for a copper penny to get CuO coating and turn
brown. The reaction can be sped up by raising the temperature.

Sample Problem 4
Methanol is a high-octane fuel used in high-performance racing engines. Calculate
ΔG˚ for the reaction:
2CH3OH(g) + 3O2(g) → 2CO2(g) + 4H2O(g)
The free energies of formation of the substances are given below:

Calculating ΔG:
ΔG˚= ΣnΔGf˚ (products) - ΣmΔGf˚ (reactants)
= [(2) ΔGf˚CO2+ (4) ΔGf˚H2O] –[(2) ΔGf˚CH3OH+ (3) ΔGf˚O2]
= [(2) (-394) + (4)(-229)]- [(2)(-163)+(3) (0)]
= [-1704] – [-326]
ΔG˚= -1378 kJ or kJ/mol

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Factors Affecting the Sign of ΔG
In order to predict the sign of ΔG according to the equation: ΔG= ΔH- TΔS,
the change in enthalpy and entropy must be determined. Temperature may also
influence the direction of the spontaneous reaction. The four possible combinations
are shown in the table below:

Looking at the table, when ΔH and -T ΔS have opposite signs, the sign of
ΔG depends on the magnitude of these two terms. In these instances, temperature
is an important consideration. Generally. ΔH and ΔS change very little with
temperature. However, the value of T directly affects the magnitude of -TΔS. As
the temperature increases, the magnitude of -TΔS increases and this term becomes
relatively more important in determining the sign and magnitude of ΔG.
Consider the melting of ice to liquid water at 101.3 kPa or 1 atm:
H2O(s) → H2O(l) ΔH >0, ΔS > 0
This process is endothermic, which means that ΔH is positive. Because the
entropy increases during the process, ΔS is positive, which makes -TΔS negative.
At temperature below 273 K or 0˚C, the magnitude of ΔH is greater than that of -
TΔS. Hence positive enthalpy term dominates, and ΔG is positive. This positive
value of Gibbs free energy shows that ice melting is not spontaneous at T<0˚C, just
as our everyday experience tells us; and the reverse process, the freezing of water
into ice at these temperatures is spontaneous.

II. Learning Competencies with Code

• Use Gibb’s free energy to determine the direction of a reaction
(STEM_GC11CT-IV-a-b-143)

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III. ACTIVITY 1
Modified True or False. Read each statement and identify whether it is
True or False. If the sentence is false, change the underlined word/s to
make the statement true.
____________1. Free energy is the energy available to do work.
____________2. A positive ΔG means a reaction is spontaneous.
____________3. Gibbs free energy predicts changes that are focused on
the universe.
____________4. Enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs free energy are all state
functions.
____________5. If ΔG of a reaction is negative, while ΔH is negative and
ΔS is positive, the reaction is spontaneous at all temperatures.
____________6. If ΔG is = 0, it means that the reaction did not take
place.
____________7. The standard free energy of formation of elements is
always zero.
____________8. The standard temperature used in measuring the
standard free energy of formation of substances is at 298 K.
____________9. The standard free energy is the free energy for reaction
when reactants in their standard states are converted in products in their
standard states.
____________10. Temperature influences the direction of a spontaneous
reaction.

IV. ACTIVITY 2
Problem Solving. Supply what is asked in the problems below.

1. Classify each of the following reactions as one of the four possible

types summarized in Table 19.3 (i) spontaneous at all temperatures;
(ii) not spontaneous at any temperature; (iii) spontaneous at low T but
not spontaneous at high T; (iv) spontaneous at high T but not
spontaneous at low T
a. N2(g) + 3F2(g) → 2NF3(g)
ΔH˚ = -249 kJ ΔS˚= -278 J/K
b. N2F4(g) → 2NF2(g)
ΔH˚ = 85 kJ ΔS˚= 198 J/K

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 2. A chemical engineer wants to determine the feasibility of making
ethanol (C2H5OH) by reacting water with ethylene (C2H4) according to
the equation:
C2H4(g) + H2O(l) → C2H5OH(l)
What is the change in free energy(ΔG) of the reaction? Is the reaction
spontaneous under standard conditions?
3. Using the data from the Thermodynamic Table (see attached last pages
in this module), calculate ΔG˚ for the following reactions at 25˚ C.
a. N2(g) + O2(g) → 2NO(g)
b. H2O(l) → H2O(g)

V. GUIDE QUESTIONS
(Questions that will lead the learner to express their learning from the lesson)

1. How can one predict Gibbs free energy at constant pressure and
temperature?
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2. What does a negative Gibbs free energy tells us?
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 V. REFERENCES

Brown, T., LeMay, E. J., Bursten, B., Murphy, C., Woodward, P., & Stoltzfus, M. (2018).
Chemistry The Central Science. United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited.

Laird, B. (2009). University Chemistry. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Licuanan, P. B. (2016). General Chemistry 2. Quezon City: Commision on Higher Education.

Zumdahl, S., & Zumdahl, S. (2014). Chemistry. Belmont, California: Cengage Learning.
Ayson, B., De Borja, R., & Ysrael, M.(2016). General Chemistry 2. Araneta Ave, Quezon City:
Vibal Group, Inc.
Silberberg, M.(2016). General Chemistry 1 & 2. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

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 Prepared by:

JOANE S. CAUAGDAN
Name of Writer

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