Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
A negative ΔG° (delta G naught) indicates a spontaneous reaction, meaning the reaction will occur without any external influence. It's a measure of the maximum work a thermodynamic system can perform at constant temperature and pressure.
This is a chemical reaction where the change in free energy is negative (ΔG < 0), indicating that products have less free energy than reactants, thus making it spontaneous.
Entropy (S): This is a measure of disorder or randomness in a system. In terms of reactions, those that increase entropy tend to be spontaneous, contributing to negative ΔG°.
Enthalpy (H): This refers to the total heat content of a system. If enthalpy decreases in a reaction (exothermic), it can contribute to making ΔG negative and thus make the process spontaneous.