Dissociation Energy

[Eileen Si 1G]

Why are dissociation energies always positive? Is energy released or gained when a bond is broken?

[Amanda Lin 2I]

Dissociation energies are always positive because energy is absorbed in order to break the bond.

[Isabella Dal Porto 1H]

Forming bonds release energy and breaking bonds require energy.

[Daniel Chen 2L]

If breaking a bond requires energy then is energy gained to break the bond and the energy is released when the bond is broken???

[Eesha Sohail 1D]

I think it helps to think of energy as power to do something, rather than something tangible. It takes energy to break a bond, but energy is released when a bond is formed. That's because a bonded state is typically less energetic or "powerful" than an unbonded one, and therefore more stable. Matter is always looking for that stability. So, to break a bond means going against that natural attempt to gain stability, therefore requiring energy from outside.

[Jacob Villar 2C]

Energy is absorbed to be able to break bonds.

[Ying Yan 1F]

^ Dissociation energy is positive because energy is need to break the bond. On the other hand, when bonds are formed, energy is release and that value of energy is negative.

[ramiro_romero]

Dissociation energy is always positive because energy is always absorbed for dissociation. To break a bond requires an additional absorption of energy

[Siddiq 1E]

How can we calculate dissociation energy? Will we need to?

[Sally Qiu 2E]

dissociation energy is the energy required to break a bond, and since breaking bonds requires energy, the dissociation energy will be positive