asked 27.6k views
1 vote
Which of the following reactions is spontaneous?

water freezing on a hot summer day
mixture being separated
lumps os sugar dissolving in water
sodium chloride forming sodium metal and chlorine gas

1 Answer

1 vote
Answer is: lumps os sugar dissolving in water.
Sugar has very good solubility in water and it dissolves readily, which is example of a physical change.
Gibbs free energy (G) determines if reaction will proceed spontaneously, if ΔG is negative, reaction is spontaneous (ΔG = ΔH - T·ΔS).
In other examples, reactions are spontaneous in reverse way, for example spontaneous is forming sodium chlorine from sodium metal and chlorine gas, but not sodium chloride forming sodium metal and chlorine gas, because a lot of energy is needed for that reaction.
answered
User Nickwesselman
by
8.0k points
Welcome to Qamnty — a place to ask, share, and grow together. Join our community and get real answers from real people.