Breaking up is Hard to do- it requires Energy

As I'm studying for MCAT, a random thought pops into my head and I thought I'd blog about it. Today's topic is Thermochemistry and while re-learning entropy and enthalpy (heat energy) I came to the conclusion that nature favors being single and free as opposed to being married (committed) and tied down.

A chemical reaction is favorable and spontaneous if the value of ∆G is negative from the equation ∆G= ∆H-T∆S, where ∆G stands for free energy, ∆H is enthalpy, T is temperature (K) and ∆S stands for entropy. One way to create a favorable reaction is to increase the enropy of the reaction (assuming all other variables remain constant).

In terms of entropy, which is the measure of randomness (disorder) of a system, the less bound a molecule is and therefore, the more freely it is to rotate about its bonds (has a greater degree of freedom), the greater the entropy- the more favorable the reaction. Cyclic compounds have less entropy than linear compounds because they are not as free to rotate around their bonds. Alkanes are more entropically favorable than alkenes for the same reason.

Although it requires energy to break a bond (breaking up is hard to do), the end product results in a more favorable and spontaneous reaction due to the increase in entropy. Bonds in a solid state (married bonds) are more organized and conformed but once broken (single life) gain more potenial to release that organizational energy in order for a molecule to experience...to journey. In going from a solid phase to a gas phase bonds are broken and entropy is increased, as favored by the universe. Relative entropy increases going from solid to liquid to gas phase.

Once again society has contradicted nature by brainwashing us to believe that being married is more favorable than being single and free! By the laws of thermodynamics- I beg to differ.

*NOTE: this post was only written to help the author, Jezelle, better understand thermochemistry and prodvide a logicaaly explanation for chosing to stay single in the face of suitors.

Team 44S!

Last night was rough- I was pulled out of bed by a friend who had an “emergency” and needed to be picked up from the airport at the crack of dawn. She also demanded girl time and being a good friend, I agreed without hesitation. I spent the entire day and most of the night with her. I came home exhausted and in dire need of sleep, however, as I walked in I was greeted by Liz, Vince and a picture Liz drew and posted on the fridge. The picture included my face along with hers and Vince’s with a heading that read TEAM 44S! That was enough motivation to get me to hit the books for a few hours before going to bed at 3 am. Well done Liz. This morning I had class at Berkeley Review we covered Periodic Trends in General Chemistry. Pretty cut and dry basic stuff. I learned that the periodic trends are based on:

1). Effective Nuclear Charge: which affects how tightly valence shell electrons are held. Cations are generally smaller than the neutral atom while anions are larger. As the number of protons increase, the atom cotracts due to an increase in electrostatic attraction. As the number of electrons increase, the atom expands due to an increase in repulsive forces. This trend is observed in atoms that are in the same row and increases going from left to right on the periodic table. Effective nuclear charge affects ionization energy (the amount of energy required to lose an electron), electron affinity (the amount of energy released with the gain of an electron), and atomic radius.

2). Valence Shell (principle quantum number- n): which affects the distance between electrons and the nucleus. As distance increases, attraction decreases. Valence shell trend is observed when atoms are in the same period or column of the periodic table. As the table decends (top to bottom) valence shells increase. Electronegativity can be predicted using this trend.

As with everything in life, there are exceptions in these trends. Exceptions are usually observed with half-filled and filled stability. Time for BED!