Light

State Function

Definition

A state function is a property of a system that depends only on its current state, not on how it got to that state. It's independent of the path taken.

Analogy

Think about your journey from home to school. No matter which route you take - whether you walk, bike, or ride the bus - the distance between your home and school doesn't change. The distance is like a state function; it doesn't depend on the path you took.

Related terms

Thermodynamic System: This refers to a portion of the universe under study where changes occur. It can be an open system (exchanges energy and matter with surroundings), closed system (exchanges only energy), or isolated system (no exchange).

Entropy: Entropy is a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system.

Enthalpy: Enthalpy is another state function that describes heat content within a reaction/system at constant pressure.