why do chemists prefer to measure change in heat energy instead than the total amount of heat energy present?
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to find out how fast the rxn has taken place.a change in heat energy in a particular time...you mean,righttt!!!
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Total amount of energy remains the same within the universe. It can give out heat energy, and therefore the total energy in the system decreases. The change in the energy of the system is what's important, because that is what the system expels.