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Standard State

Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:27 pm
by Amy Dao 3K
On page 20 of the course reader it says make sure everything is in standard state and that the reaction is balanced. I'm a little confused to as what it means by standard state?

Re: Standard State

Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:51 pm
by Ryan McDonough 4E
Hi Amy. Standard state is when a substance is at its lowest energy due to the state of matter it's in. For example, the reaction in the book, CH4(g) + 2O2(g) --> CO2(g) +2H2O(l), shows us that the standard state of the first three compounds is gas. This means that these compounds are at their lowest energy when they are in a gaseous state. However, water is at its lowest energy when it's in liquid form. Hope this helps!

Re: Standard State

Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:10 pm
by Lily Wei 1D
The standard state of something is just the most stable state of matter of a substance at 25 degrees Celsius and 1atm :)

Re: Standard State

Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:18 pm
by Shaye Busse 3B
The standard states of elements are when they are in their most stable natural form at 25 degrees Celsius and 1 atmosphere of pressure as well as 1 mole of the molecule. For some elements, (Br, N, Cl, H, O, and F) the most stable natural form is a diatomic molecule.