Question

When 2 moles of NH3(g) react with N2O(g) to form N2(g) and H2O(g) according to the following equation, 880 kJ of energy are evolved. 2NH3(g) 3N2O(g)4N2(g) 3H2O(g) Is this reaction endothermic or exothermic

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

This is a bit of a trick question.

Usually an exothermic reaction is written as

A + B - heat = C + D

The meaning of this equation is that when the bonds of the reactants break, heat has to be given away to the environment. On the left, exothermic means that heat has to be given.

The wording on this question means that heat is a product

A + B = C + D + heat.

In other words heat is given up to the environment. So this reaction is exothermic.