CHEM 1125Q Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Boltzmann Constant, Spontaneous Process, Gas Constant
Document Summary
Remember that state functions are path-independent quantities. A process that does occur under a specific set of conditions is called a spontaneous process. A process that does not occur under a specific set of conditions is called non spontaneous. A process that results in a decrease in the energy of a system often is spontaneous. The sign of h alone is insufficient to predict spontaneity in every circumstance however. To predict spontaneity, both the enthalpy and entropy must be known. Entropy (s) of a system is a measure of how spread out or how dispersed the system"s energy is. Spontaneity is favored by an increase in entropy. S = klnw. k is the boltzmann constant (1. 38 x 10-23. W is the number of different arrangements (this is the r gas constant on a molecular level) The number of arrangements possible is given by w = xn.
