In: Chemistry
"cold packs" used to treat sports injuries commonly consist of two compartments; water or some kind of gel on one side and solid ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3, on the other. The chemical equation corresponding to the dissociation reaction that occurs when you break the seal between the compartments is given below: NH4NO3(s)-->NH4+(aq)+NO3(aq) A. Given that the cold packs get colder, is the above reaction exo-,endo-, or isothermic? Provide the definition of the appropraite word and apply the concepts of system and surroundings to this particular situation. Be as concise as possible.
Cold pack, which usually contains water and a packet of ammonium nitrate. The cold pack is activated by breaking the barrier separating the water and ammonium chloride, allowing them to mix. Then the cold packs get colder in reference to room temperature, and the above reaction is an endothermic reaction.
EXPLANATION
Definition of an endothermic reaction is, a reaction which absorbs energy in the form of heat from its surrounding.
when ammonium nitrate mix with water, due to random motion(entropy) of the solid particles, it separates and causes ionization of ammonium nitrate. but the interaction(attractive force) between the solid particle and water molecule is a weaker one, which produces a small amount of energy(heat) for ionization. Hence this endothermic reaction takes heat from its surrounding(water) and lowers the temperature of water. This result cold packs to get colder .
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