Fundamentals of Chemistry: The Haber Process

General Education Common Graded Assignment: CHEM 107 Spring 2021
The Haber Process
Fundamentals of Chemistry (CHEM 107) is a general education course designed to assist students in the development of critical life skills. One of the goals of this assignment is to assess student competence for each of these objectives:
Written and Oral Communication— Explain the effect of chemistry on individuals and diverse societies and on the world around us (CCO3)
Critical Analysis and Reasoning— Apply chemical principles and scientific concepts required for the health sciences, or for continuation in a higher-level chemistry course (CCO1)
Information Literacy— Find, evaluate, and cite appropriate academic resources and technology, including print and digital media, to gather physical and chemical data (CCO4)
Scientific and Quantitative or Logical Reasoning— Perform reaction stoichiometry calculations (CCO11)
Personal and Professional Ethics— Evaluate professional behavior within the scientific community and explain the ramifications of misconduct and apply western standards of academic and scientific integrity to chemistry (CCO23).
In addition to the above general education objectives, this assignment assesses students’ understanding and application of the following skills and knowledge specific to Thermochemistry:
perform reaction stoichiometry calculations;
write and balance different types of chemical equations;
apply concepts of heat change in a chemical reaction.
ASSIGNMENT:
Students are asked to calculate the theoretical yield of a reaction where one reagent, whose amount determines how much product will be formed, is completely consumed. The other reagent is used in excess amount and is, therefore, not a limiting factor to the amount of product that will be formed.
Using the internet and/or any library database as one of the learning tools, independent learning, critical thinking, and effective written communication skills will be required in order for students to express their opinion on the controversy surrounding the award of the Nobel Prize to the chemist who invented the process.
Purpose:
By tying the concepts of percent yield and theoretical yield together, students can calculate the amount of reagent needed to yield a specified amount of product given a percent yield, demonstrating critical thinking skills.
This project highlights a process called the Haber process that has a significant contribution to modern society with an interesting background story that would promote cultural appreciation.
Audience: Other CHEM 107 students
Directions:
See attached instructions for detailed directions for completing this activity. Students should complete the assignment and turn in a completed Answer Sheet and Essay.
ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS:
Answers to questions 1 – 5 should be completed on the answer sheet provided.
Answer to question 6 must be:
typed, doubled-spaced in Times New Roman 12pt font, a minimum 300 and maximum 600 words in length (excluding the references)
written in APA 6 or 7 style (http://libraryguides(dot)ccbcmd(dot)edu/Citations/apa) with appropriate reference page and title page. No abstract is needed.
Use at least two (2) credible, academically appropriate sources of information to support your work.
(Wikipedia and other general on-line encyclopedias are not considered acceptable sources while subject-specific encyclopedias provided in the CCBC reference database are acceptable.)
Utilize library databases to locate appropriate sources such as the Chemistry Library Research Guide: https://libraryguides(dot)ccbcmd(dot)edu/chemistry/home
An additional electronic submission (i.e. through SafeAssign in Blackboard) may be required by your instructor
GRADING:
This assignment will account for a minimum of 5% of the total course grade.
See attached rubric for details about how your work will be graded
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Due 5/15
CHEM 107: Fundamentals of Chemistry
The Haber Process
Introduction:
While the majority component of air is nitrogen (N2), the gas is very unreactive because of its stability due to the triple bonds that hold the nitrogen atoms together. Nitrogen gas is, therefore, relatively unavailable for chemical reactions. One of the few ways to “fix” nitrogen, making a nitrogen compound from the elemental nitrogen in the atmosphere, is the Haber process (aka Haber-Bosch process). In this reaction, nitrogen gas combines with hydrogen gas to yield ammonia. The enthalpy (ΔH) of this reaction is -92.22 kJ.
This process was discovered by the German chemist Fritz Haber in the early twentieth century. Through extensive experimentation, Haber found the conditions that would produce adequate yields (at a temperature of about 500 oC and a pressure of about 200 atm). This process holds a significant importance today because of its application in the industrial production of ammonia-based fertilizer. In 1918, Haber received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work. However, a lot of controversy followed the Nobel Prize award.
For this experiment, 16.55 grams of nitrogen gas and 10.15 grams of hydrogen gas are allowed to react in the reaction vessel. The ammonia vapor that is produced is then condensed, liquefied, and collected into a collection vessel.
QUESTION SHEET
Students must work individually. The following questions refer to the reaction described above.
Answer the questions on the Answer Sheet provided. Make sure to put your student ID number on each page.
ANY ANSWERS THAT ARE NOT WRITTEN ON THE ANSWER SHEET WILL NOT BE GRADED.
MAKE SURE TO TURN IN BOTH THE QUESTION SHEET AND THE ANSWER SHEET.
You must show all relevant work clearly and completely. Sentences must be used to state answers on the lines provided. Appropriate use of significant figures and units is required in order to receive full credit.
Write a balanced thermochemical equation with phase labels for the Haber process with the heat energy as part of the equation. (3 pts)
What is the theoretical yield of ammonia (in grams) if 16.55 grams of nitrogen gas and 10.15 grams of hydrogen gas are allowed to react? (9 pts)
Based on your theoretical yield, what is the percent yield of ammonia if only 8.33 grams of ammonia is produced? (3 pts)
How much heat energy (in kJ) will be absorbed or released if 8.33 grams of ammonia is produced? State whether the energy will be absorbed or released.
(4 pts)
Ammonia gas reacts with aqueous nitric acid to form aqueous ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer.
(a) Write the balanced chemical equation for the reaction, including the physical states. (2 pts)
(b) Write the complete ionic and the net ionic equations for the reaction. (7 pts)
Compare and contrast the positive and negative effects that result from the use of the Haber process. Discuss the controversy that followed the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Haber. Based on this discussion, do you think Haber should have been awarded this prestigious award for his work? Explain. (22 pts)
ANSWER SHEET
Use sentences when stating the answers. You must show work for #3 through #5 in order to receive full credit for the answers to those questions. Appropriate use of significant figures and units is required in order to receive full credit.
1. Answer:
2. Show calculations:
Answer: ___________________________________________________________
3. Show calculations (use dimensional analysis):
Answer ___________________________________________________________
4. Show calculations:
Answer ___________________________________________________________
5. Answer:
6. Provide your answer to question #6 as a written response.
Your discussion must be typed, doubled-spaced in Times New Roman 12pt font, a minimum 300 and maximum 600 words in length (excluding the references) and written in APA style (http://libraryguides(dot)ccbcmd(dot)edu/Citations/apa) with appropriate reference page and title page. No abstract is needed.
You must use at least two (2) credible, academically appropriate sources of information to support your work.
(Wikipedia and other general on-line encyclopedias are not considered acceptable sources while subject-specific encyclopedias provided in the CCBC reference database are acceptable.)