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Thermodynamics

Question
CBSEENCH11006256

What are the two tendencies which determine the feasibility of process? How are the two related to each other?

Solution

The following two tendencies are responsible for determining the feasibility of a process:
(i) The tendency of a system to acquire a state of minimum energy i.e. energy factor. It is expressed in terms of enthalpy change (∆H). A negative value of ∆H suggests that system has the tendency to proceed.
(ii) The tendency of a system to acquire a state of maximum randomness i.e. randomness factor. It is expressed by T∆S where T is the absolute temperature and ∆S is the change in entropy. A positive value of T∆S indicates an inherent tendency of a process to occur.
Relation between two tendencies:
The overall tendency or the driving force of a process is expressed in terms of free energy change (∆G). This is expressed as ∆G = ∆H – T∆S
This equation is called Gibb’s Helmholtz equation. For a spontaneous process, ∆G should have a negative value i.e. the system should undergo a decrease in its free energy.