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Delta S and what it favors?

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 3:37 pm
by Johnson Thai 1L
Why does positive Delta S favor forward processes and why does negative Delta S not? Does "forward" refer to a reaction where a substance goes from a lower energy state to a higher one? Clarification please, thanks.

Re: Delta S and what it favors?

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 6:37 pm
by Christian Hardoy 3F
I'm not sure what you mean by "forward processes," but positive delta S means an increase in disorder. If a certain reaction under a certain set of conditions has a positive value of delta S then it means that the reaction represents an increase in disorder and will occur spontaneously. The reverse reaction will have a negative value of delta S and will not be spontaneous.

Re: Delta S and what it favors?

Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 12:03 pm
by Michelle Kam 1F
A positive Delta S indicates a favorable or spontaneous process. This means that the reaction will proceed without any energy input.
A negative Delta S indicates an unfavorable or nonspontaneous process, meaning that the reaction will require some energy to proceed.
I don't think it'd be too helpful to think of this as forward or backward.