isothermal

[gabby_15]

when a reaction is isothermal, what assumptions can be made?

[Suzan Manoian 1H]

For a isothermal reaction, the temperature remains constant throughout the reaction process. Since it is constant, there is no heat transfer between the system and its surroundings. For isothermal reversible reactions, the change in internal energy is 0 because the heat lost in the form of work by the system is gained by the surroundings.

[oliviabruin24]

Isothermal means that the system neither loses nor gains heat energy during the reaction. This simplifies calculations sometimes because you don’t have to solve for q.

[Soobin Lim 2B]

You can make assumptions as follows:
- ΔH = 0
- K is independent of pressure
- Equilibrium shifts to counter pressure changes
- Equilibrium composition depends only on initial conditions and K