Endothermic and Exothermic Energy Transfer

Exothermic and Endothermic Energy Transfer

The chemical process you are focusing on is referred to as the system. The surroundings are anything outside of the system.

A chemical process involves energy transfer due to temperature differences between two substances. 

• Endothermic (cold)
  • transfer of heat to the system from the surroundings
• Exothermic (hot)
  • transfer of heat from the system to the surroundings

Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics is the study of energy and its transformations 

• 1st Law of Thermodynamics
  • Energy is conserved- it doesn't just disappear, it is transferred
• 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
  • Energy tends to disperse
  • Entropy tends to increase
• Thermal Equilibrium- when the objects in contact are the same temperature
  • You can not transfer energy from a cold object to a hot object because this would concentrate the energy