Question

A mixture of gaseous reactants is put into a cylinder, where a chemical reaction tums them into gaseous products. The cylinder has a piston that moves in or out, as necessary, to keep a constant pressure on the mixture of 1 atm. The cylinder is also submerged in a large insulated water bath. 1 atm pressure piston cylinder The temperature of the water bath is monitored, and it is determined from this data that 300.1J of heat flows out of the system during the reaction. The position of the piston is also monitored, and it is determined from this data that the system does 316.kJ of work on the piston during the reaction water bath gases exothermic.

Required:
a. Is the reaction exothermic or endothermic?
b. Does the temperature of the water bath go up or down?

Answer 1

The reaction is exothermic

The temperature of the water bath goes up

Step-by-step explanation:

An exothermic reaction is one in which energy flows out of the reaction system.

In this case, the system is the reaction vessel while the surrounding is the water bath. We see in the question that 300.1J of heat flows out of the system during the reaction. This is heat lost to the surroundings showing that the reaction is exothermic.

As energy is lost to the surroundings, the temperature of the water bath rises accordingly.