Born-Haber Cycle Interactive Activity

The Born-Haber cycle is a thermodynamic approach used to calculate lattice energy by breaking down the formation of an ionic solid into a series of individual steps. Each step represents a specific energy change that can be measured or calculated, allowing us to apply Hess's Law to determine the overall lattice energy.

Hess's Law: ΔHformation = ΔHvap + ΔHion + ½ΔHdissoc + ΔHEA + ΔHlattice

Activity 1: Order the Born-Haber Cycle Steps

Drag and drop the steps below into the correct order for the Born-Haber cycle. Keyboard users: Use Tab to navigate, Space to select/deselect, and arrow keys to move selected items.

Available Steps

Enthalpy of Formation
Enthalpy of Vaporization
Bond Dissociation Energy
Ionization Energy
Electron Affinity
Lattice Enthalpy
Use Space to select this step, then arrow keys to move it to the drop zone, and Space again to place it.

Drop Zone

Drag the steps here in the correct order:

Drop zone contains 0 steps

Activity 2: Calculate Lattice Energy

Use Hess's Law to calculate the lattice energy by inputting the thermodynamic data for each step.

Select a compound above to begin

Choose a compound from the dropdown to see the relevant thermodynamic data and practice calculating lattice energy.

Thermodynamic Values for Born-Haber Cycle Calculation
Enter the enthalpy of formation value in kilojoules per mole
Enter the enthalpy of vaporization value in kilojoules per mole
Enter the bond dissociation energy value in kilojoules per mole
Enter the ionization energy value in kilojoules per mole
Enter the electron affinity value in kilojoules per mole
Enter the lattice enthalpy value in kilojoules per mole

Result

Enter values to calculate the lattice energy.