Step 1: Understanding Hess’s Law
Hess’s law of constant heat summation states that the total enthalpy change of a reaction is the same, no matter what path the reaction takes, as long as the initial and final conditions are the same.
Step 2: The Law in Action
This law implies that the change in enthalpy is a state function, meaning it depends only on the initial and final states of the system, not on the path taken between them.
Step 3: Conclusion
Therefore, Hess’s law states that the chemical reaction's heat change is independent of the route, provided the initial and final conditions are the same.