General Chemistry (for majors) help! Understanding lattice energy and parts of the Born-Haber cycle. An alternate definition for lattice energy is: the themal energy required to break the ionic solid into its gaseous ions. If using this definition, the lattice energy values would be the same, but have a positive sign. Check your textbook to see if you should label the lattice energies as a positive (+) or negative (-) value. It doesn't really matter how you define it, just make sure you understand that it TAKES energy (+) to break the bond, and RELEASES energy (-) to form the bond.
Keywords: lattice, energy, electron, affinity, bond, dissociation, enthalpy, born-haber, chemistry, tutorial
