How much energy would be required to ionize an entire mole of hydrogen atoms?
To calculate the energy required to ionize an entire mole of hydrogen atoms, we need to consider the ionization energy of a single hydrogen atom and then multiply it by Avogadro's number.
The ionization energy of a hydrogen atom is the energy required to remove an electron from the atom. The ionization energy of the hydrogen atom in the ground state is approximately 13.6 electron volts (eV) or 2.18 x 10^-18 joules (J).
Now, let's compute the energy required to ionize one mole of hydrogen atoms:
Step 1: Convert the ionization energy to joules.
1 eV = 1.6 x 10^-19 J (approximately)
Ionization energy of hydrogen atom = 13.6 eV
Ionization energy of hydrogen atom in joules = 13.6 eV * (1.6 x 10^-19 J/eV) = 2.18 x 10^-18 J
Step 2: Multiply the ionization energy by Avogadro's number.
Avogadro's number (NA) = 6.022 x 10^23 mol^-1 (approximately)
Energy required to ionize 1 mole of hydrogen atoms = Ionization energy * NA
Energy required to ionize 1 mole of hydrogen atoms = 2.18 x 10^-18 J * (6.022 x 10^23 mol^-1) = 1.31 x 10^6 J
Therefore, the energy required to ionize an entire mole of hydrogen atoms is approximately 1.31 x 10^6 joules (J).