Practice question · Select all that apply
Which statements about the chemical potential are correct?
Hints
- Three describe its role; one gets the units wrong.
- It is an energy per particle, or per mole.
Show the answer
- B. It is needed to describe open systems
- C. It is the derivative of Gibbs energy with respect to particle number
- D. Matter flows spontaneously from high to low chemical potential
Why
The chemical potential is the energy cost of adding one more particle, and matter flows down its gradient exactly as heat flows down a temperature gradient. Its units are energy per particle or per mole, not per volume.
Practise Thermodynamic Potentials and Maxwell Relations
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