Page 1: Introduction to Feasibility and Entropy

This page introduces the concept of feasibility of reactions in chemistry a level and the fundamental principles of entropy. It explains spontaneous reactions and their relationship with enthalpy changes.

Definition: Spontaneous reactions are those that happen without continuous intervention, even if they are slow due to high activation energy.

The page emphasizes that enthalpy change (ΔH) alone doesn't determine reaction feasibility. It introduces entropy as a property of matter associated with randomness and energy distribution.

Highlight: The Second Law of Thermodynamics allows us to predict whether a process is likely to occur, based on entropy considerations.

An example of entropy increase is illustrated using the diffusion of bromine gas into air. The page also introduces the mathematical relationship between entropy (S) and the number of possible molecular arrangements (W).

Example: For 4 molecules in a two-jar system, there are 16 possible arrangements (2⁴), demonstrating how quickly the number of arrangements increases with more molecules.

The concept of energy quanta is introduced, explaining how the distribution of energy packets among molecules contributes to entropy.

Vocabulary: Quanta - discrete packets of energy that must exist in whole numbers.