Predict whether the changes in enthalpy, entropy, and free energy will be positive or negative for the freezing of water, and explain your predictions. How does temperature affect the spontaneity of this process?

The total energy or intrinsic energy of a system is called the enthalpy. In thermochemistry, we have two types of enthalpy changes which are:

Exothermic changes Endothermic changes

For the freezing of water, the enthalpy change is an exothermic one. Exothermic changes are designated as negative. In this chemical change, heat is liberated to the surroundings and this leaves the environment at a much higher temperature. In freezing, the enviroment gains more heat as the material begins to cool to lower temperature.

Entropy is the degree of randomness or disorderliness of a system. When a phase change occurs from liquid to solid, freezing takes place. Such a change increases the orderliness of a system and entropy diminishes. Here, entropy is negative.

The free energy is a measure of the energy a system that does useful work. Free energy depends on enthalpy, entropy and temperature of a system. For phase changes such as freezing of water, the value of free energy change is 0.

For this process, an increases in temperature makes it non-spontaneous. Increasing temperature would alter the course of the reaction and makes it exothermic. For entropy, increasing temperature would increase entropy and therefore, the reaction would not be feasible.

Temperature would mostly affect the free energy. An increase in temperature would increase the value of entropy change and the reaction would not be spontaneous. With falling temperature value, the reaction becomes more spontaneous and favored.