because this is the question I was trying to answer in the Chemical Reactive Energy portion of my General Chemistry text...I assumed the Standard State is Solid, Liquid, Gas, or Plasma...At a specified Temperature...
5) What is the value of the standard enthalpy of formation for any element under standard conditions?
Standard enthalpies of formation for the elements in their standard states are zero, because:
standard conditions are normally expressed as STP(standard Temperature and Pressure) which is normally 25°C at 1 bar approximately 1 atm(760 torr). The standard state of Oxygen at STP is a gas and until the gas is changed to a liquid the standard enthalpy of formation is standardized as one scalar quantity before change of state occurs for the liquid, but once the change occurs from the gas to the liquid the scalar quantity of the ∆H(standard enthalpy of formation) will change to a different value.
NOTE: The standard state of Carbon at STP exists in three different solid states Graphite, Diamond, and Buckminsterfullerene.