Standard electrode potentials (also known as standard reduction potentials) are a measure of the tendency of a chemical species to undergo reduction or oxidation under standard conditions. These potentials are reported relative to the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE), which is assigned a potential of 0.00 volts. Standard electrode potentials are typically represented using the notation…
Acids and bases are fundamental concepts in chemistry that are used to describe the properties of various chemical substances. The Bronsted and Lewis concepts are two different approaches used to define acids and bases. The Bronsted-Lowry concept defines an acid as a substance that donates a proton (H+) and a base as a substance that…
The common ion effect is a phenomenon in which the solubility of a slightly soluble salt is decreased by the presence of a common ion in the solution. This effect is due to the principle of Le Chatelier’s principle, which states that a system at equilibrium will shift to counteract any stress placed upon it.…
Solubility product is a measure of the maximum amount of a solute that can dissolve in a solvent at a particular temperature, and is represented by the symbol Ksp. It is the equilibrium constant for the dissolution of a sparingly soluble salt in water, and is defined as the product of the concentrations of the…
Equilibrium constant (Kp and Kc) and Reaction quotient are terms commonly used in the field of chemical equilibrium. Equilibrium constant (Kp or Kc) is a numerical value that relates the concentrations (or partial pressures) of the reactants and products of a reversible chemical reaction at equilibrium. The equilibrium constant expression is written as: Kp =…
The law of mass action is a fundamental principle in chemistry and chemical kinetics that describes the relationship between the concentrations of reactants and products in a chemical reaction at equilibrium. It states that the rate of a chemical reaction is proportional to the product of the concentrations of the reactants, each raised to a…
Gibbs energy, also known as Gibbs free energy, is a thermodynamic quantity that measures the amount of energy available to do useful work in a chemical reaction or physical process at constant temperature and pressure. It is denoted by the symbol G and has units of joules (J) or kilojoules (kJ) per mole. Gibbs energy…
Entropy is a concept from thermodynamics that refers to the degree of disorder or randomness in a system. In statistical mechanics, it is often defined as the number of microstates (arrangements of particles or energy levels) that correspond to a given macrostate (observable properties like temperature, pressure, or volume). The greater the number of microstates,…
The second law of thermodynamics is a fundamental principle in physics that states that in any spontaneous process, the total entropy of a closed system will always increase over time, or remain constant in ideal cases. Entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness of a system, and the second law of thermodynamics tells…
Lattice enthalpy is a measure of the energy required to separate the ions in a solid ionic compound to an infinite distance from each other. It is a type of enthalpy of dissociation and is a measure of the strength of the ionic bonds in the compound. Lattice enthalpy is a negative quantity, which means…
