Exothermic and endothermic reactions

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Question 5
Hard

This question is about methanol (CH3OH\text{CH}_3\text{OH}CH3​OH).

a.

Explain why methanol has a relatively low boiling point compared to giant covalent substances, such as silicon dioxide.

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b.

The combustion of methanol in oxygen is an exothermic reaction. Which statement correctly describes the reaction profile for this exothermic reaction?

  • A: The reactants are at a lower energy level than the products, and the overall energy change is represented by the difference in energy between reactants and products.
  • B: The reactants are at a lower energy level than the products, and the overall energy change is represented by the energy difference between the reactants and the activation energy peak.
  • C: The reactants are at a higher energy level than the products, and the overall energy change is represented by the energy difference between the reactants and the activation energy peak.
  • D: The reactants are at a higher energy level than the products, and the overall energy change is represented by the difference in energy between reactants and products.
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c.

The balanced chemical equation for the combustion of methanol is: 2CH3OH+3O2→2CO2+4H2O2\text{CH}_3\text{OH} + 3\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 2\text{CO}_2 + 4\text{H}_2\text{O}2CH3​OH+3O2​→2CO2​+4H2​O

The molecules have the following structural bonds:

  • Methanol (CH3OH\text{CH}_3\text{OH}CH3​OH): contains 3×C−H3 \times \text{C}-\text{H}3×C−H, 1×C−O1 \times \text{C}-\text{O}1×C−O, and 1×O−H1 \times \text{O}-\text{H}1×O−H bonds.
  • Oxygen (O2\text{O}_2O2​): contains 1×O=O1 \times \text{O}=\text{O}1×O=O bond per molecule.
  • Carbon dioxide (CO2\text{CO}_2CO2​): contains 2×C=O2 \times \text{C}=\text{O}2×C=O bonds per molecule.
  • Water (H2O\text{H}_2\text{O}H2​O): contains 2×O−H2 \times \text{O}-\text{H}2×O−H bonds per molecule.

The overall energy change for this reaction is −1286 kJ-1286\text{ kJ}−1286 kJ (meaning 1286 kJ1286\text{ kJ}1286 kJ of energy is released).

The table below shows the bond energies for some of these bonds:

BondBond Energy (kJ/mol\text{kJ/mol}kJ/mol)
C−O\text{C}-\text{O}C−OXXX
C−H\text{C}-\text{H}C−H413413413
O−H\text{O}-\text{H}O−H463463463
O=O\text{O}=\text{O}O=O498498498
C=O\text{C}=\text{O}C=O805805805

Calculate the bond energy of the C−O\text{C}-\text{O}C−O bond (XXX).

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Exothermic and endothermic reactions Questions

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