The chemical reaction has an enthalpy change of -355 kJ and does 1550 J of work on the surroundings. The change in internal energy (delta U) for the reaction is determined to be -356.55 kJ.
The question asks for the change in internal energy (delta U) for a chemical reaction given the enthalpy change and the work done on the surroundings. We can use the first law of thermodynamics, which states that the change in internal energy (delta U) is equal to the heat transfer (q) minus the work done (w) on the surroundings.
In this case, the enthalpy change (delta H) is given as -355 kJ, indicating that the reaction releases energy. The work done on the surroundings is given as 1550 J. To calculate the change in internal energy, we need to convert the work done to the same units as the enthalpy change (kJ).
First, we convert 1550 J to kJ by dividing by 1000:
1550 J ÷ 1000 = 1.55 kJ
Now we can calculate the change in internal energy (delta U):
delta U = delta H - w
delta U = -355 kJ - 1.55 kJ
delta U = -356.55 kJ
Therefore, the change in internal energy (delta U) for this reaction is -356.55 kJ.