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5.1 Exothermic and endothermic reactions

5.1 Exothermic and endothermic reactions

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Question 8

Hydrazine (N2H4\text{N}_2\text{H}_4N2​H4​) is used as a rocket propellant. It reacts with oxygen (O2\text{O}_2O2​) to produce nitrogen gas (N2\text{N}_2N2​) and water vapour (H2O\text{H}_2\text{O}H2​O) according to the following chemical equation:

N2H4+O2⟶N2+2H2O \text{N}_2\text{H}_4 + \text{O}_2 \longrightarrow \text{N}_2 + 2\text{H}_2\text{O} N2​H4​+O2​⟶N2​+2H2​O

The bonds broken and made during this reaction are as follows:

  • Reactants: one mole of hydrazine (N2H4\text{N}_2\text{H}_4N2​H4​) contains 1 mole of N−N\text{N}-\text{N}N−N single bonds and 4 moles of N−H\text{N}-\text{H}N−H single bonds; one mole of oxygen (O2\text{O}_2O2​) contains 1 mole of O=O\text{O}=\text{O}O=O double bonds.
  • Products: one mole of nitrogen (N2\text{N}_2N2​) contains 1 mole of N≡N\text{N}\equiv\text{N}N≡N triple bonds; two moles of water (H2O\text{H}_2\text{O}H2​O) contain 4 moles of O−H\text{O}-\text{H}O−H single bonds.

Table 1 shows the bond energies for these bonds.

Table 1

BondBond energy (kJ/mol)
N−H\text{N}-\text{H}N−H391
N−N\text{N}-\text{N}N−N163
O=O\text{O}=\text{O}O=O495
N≡N\text{N}\equiv\text{N}N≡N945
O−H\text{O}-\text{H}O−H463
a.

Calculate the overall energy change for the reaction using the bond energies in Table 1.

[3]
b.

Explain why this reaction is exothermic, using values from your calculation.

[2]
Markscheme

5.1 Exothermic and endothermic reactions Questions

  1. GCSE
  2. /Chemistry
  3. /5.1 Exothermic and endothermic reactions

13 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Chemistry 5.1 Exothermic and endothermic reactions, covering 5.1.1 Energy transfer during exothermic and endothermic reactions, 5.1.2 Reaction profiles, and 5.1.3 The energy change of reactions (HT only). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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