1. Hess's law states that the overall enthalpy change of a chemical process is independent of the path taken. 2. The document uses the reaction of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid to illustrate Hess's law. It shows that the enthalpy change of the direct reaction is equal to the sum of the enthalpy changes for the stepwise reactions. 3. Representing the reactions on an enthalpy level diagram and enthalpy cycle confirms that Hess's law applies, with the enthalpy change for the overall reaction being the sum of the enthalpy changes for the individual steps.