Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Enthalpy Change (ΔH)
Enthalpy change (ΔH) is a measure of the heat content of a system at constant pressure. It indicates whether a reaction is exothermic (releases heat, ΔH < 0) or endothermic (absorbs heat, ΔH > 0). In the context of chemical reactions, calculating ΔH helps predict the energy changes associated with the formation or breaking of bonds during the reaction.
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Stoichiometry
Stoichiometry involves the calculation of reactants and products in chemical reactions based on balanced chemical equations. It allows chemists to determine the proportions of substances consumed and produced, which is essential for calculating the enthalpy change of a reaction. In this case, the stoichiometric coefficients from the balanced equation for nitroglycerin decomposition are crucial for determining the total energy change.
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Standard Enthalpy of Formation
The standard enthalpy of formation is the change in enthalpy when one mole of a compound is formed from its elements in their standard states. This value is used to calculate the overall ΔH for a reaction by applying Hess's law, which states that the total enthalpy change for a reaction is the sum of the enthalpy changes for individual steps. Knowing the standard enthalpies of formation for the reactants and products allows for accurate ΔH calculations.
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