Question

The enthalpy change for a reaction, ΔH, is negative. What does this indicate about the chemical potential energy of the system before and after the reaction?

Answer 1

negative change in enthalpy for a reaction means the reaction is exothermic, (releases energy).

Therefore the reactants (before, things that combine in rxn.) are higher in potential energy than the products (after, result of rxn).

Answer 2

For a reaction where the enthalpy change for a reaction, ΔH, is negative, the chemical potential energy of the system before the reaction is greater than after the reaction.

What are exothermic reactions?

Exothermic reactions are reactions in which the enthalpy change, ΔH, is negative as heat is given out by the system to the surroundings.

In exothermic reactions, the heat content of the reactants is greater than the heat content of the products.

Therefore, the chemical potential energy of the system in an exothermic reaction before the reaction is greater than after the reaction.

Learn more about exothermic reactions at: https://brainly.com/question/2924714