Internal Energy and Enthalpy [ENDORSED]

[DianaTrujillo2K]

Under what conditions if any is the change in internal energy and the change in enthalpy the same?

[Sabrina Dunbar 1I]

∆U=∆H only when the work of the system is zero. As Dr. Lavelle was saying, this is almost always the case in biological systems because there is little to no work done on biological systems. In reference to the equation for determining the change in internal energy, ∆U=∆H+w, if w=0, then the equation just becomes ∆U=∆H. Hopefully this helps!

[Daniisaacson2F]

Along with that, qp=delta H only if the pressure is constant. Therefore, having the work be 0 with a system with constant pressure would result in the only thing changing the internal energy of the system be the change in heat.