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.
Think of negative ΔG° like going downhill on a bike. You don't need to pedal or push; gravity does all the work for you. The ride (or reaction) happens spontaneously because it's energetically favorable.
Exergonic Reaction: 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.
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