Hess’ law
What Hess’ law means in Chemistry A-Level, as defined for OCR.
Definition of Hess’ law
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Hess’ law in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: OCR
The enthalpy change of a reaction is independent of the route taken, provided the initial and final states are the same.
Topics that use Hess’ law
- Enthalpy changes (OCR A-Level)
Related terms
- ∆H of combustion
- ∆H of formation
- Activation energy
- Approximate estimate
- Average bond enthalpy
- Averaging over gaseous compounds
- Bond breaking and bond making
- Bond enthalpy
Using Hess’ law in the exam
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