Question

What would you expect from an exothermic reaction?

a. The energy levels will depend on the reaction.
b. The reactants and products will have the same energy.
c. The products will have more energy than the reactants.
d. The reactants will have more energy than the products

Answer 1

Answer: Option (d) is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

A chemical reaction in which heat is liberated is known as an exothermic reaction.

For example,
`X + Y \rightarrow XY + Heat`

As energy is released, hence total energy of products is less than the total energy of reactants in an exothermic reaction.

On the other hand, a chemical reaction in which heat is absorbed by reactant molecules is known as an endothermic reaction.

For example,
`X + Y + Heat \rightarrow XY`

As energy is absorbed, hence total energy of reactants is less than the total energy of products in an endothermic reaction.

Thus, we can conclude that you expect from an exothermic reaction that the reactants will have more energy than the products.

Answer 2

The energy of a reaction is the difference between the energy of the products and the reactants. An exothermic reaction releases energy, hence negative net energy. A negative remark means reactants' energy is greater than that of the products. The answer thus is D.