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Glite Dictionary
heat of formation

heat of formation

6.7
The heat released or absorbed per mole when a compound forms from its elements under standard conditions
  • noun
  • /hiːt əv fɔːrˈmeɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : calor de formación
  • Understanding the heat of formation is crucial for predicting the energy changes in chemical reactions.

Examples

  • The enthalpy change for that reaction is minus now the heat of formation of glucose.

  • Then we could determine the heat of formation, right?

  • Now let's look at the heat of formation from this book of cycloalkanes.

  • So we get some constant on the right and then that heat of formation in the exponent that we want to to find.

  • The heat of formation for water is negative, indicating that it releases energy when formed from hydrogen and oxygen.

  • Chemists calculate the heat of formation using standard enthalpy values for the reactants and products in a chemical reaction.

Surface Forms

heat of formation singular
heat of formations plural

Morphology

heat + of + formation

The phrase literally combines 'heat' and 'formation', so a learner who knows the words can infer it refers to heat associated with something being formed (i.e. energy change during creation). However, the full, precise scientific meaning (per mole, standard conditions, enthalpy change, sign conventions) is technical and not predictable from the constituents alone, so a B1 learner would grasp the general idea but not the exact definition.

Etymology

The term heat of formation comes from a simple image of making a compound from its basic elements: during the formation (when parts join) there is heat that is either 'released' or 'absorbed'. So it means the amount of heat given off or taken in when a compound is made from its elements.