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14.4: Functions of State or State Functions

  • Page ID
    536
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    A function of state is one in which the differential change is determined only by the end states and not by intervening states. Most thermodynamic variables are state functions and hence property changes are determined by the end states and not by the process path. Notable exceptions are work and heat.

    The most common thermodynamic state functions with which we shall deal include

    • Internal Energy (U),
    • Entropy (S),
    • Enthalpy (H),
    • Helmotz Energy (A), and
    • Gibbs Energy (G).

    Contributors and Attributions

    • Prof. Michael Adewumi (The Pennsylvania State University). Some or all of the content of this module was taken from Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' OER Initiative.


    This page titled 14.4: Functions of State or State Functions is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Michael Adewumi (John A. Dutton: e-Education Institute) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.