Chemical energy is released when we break the bonds between molecules. The above video shows exothermic reactions. Everything from lighting a match to a nuclear explosion is the release of stored chemical energy in the form or thermal, sound, light and kinetic energy.
Since chemical energy is stored, it is a form of Potential energy.
Usually, once we release the chemical energy from a substance, it is transformed into an entirely new substance.
For example when we burn wood, the chemical energy stored in the wood is released as heat and light energy and the wood is turned into ash.
When you drink a V or eat something your body is converting all the stored chemical energy in the food into usable energy for your muscles and brain.
The energy is broken down during digestion. The atoms loosen or break and from a new compound.
When we break a molecule it produces energy. This energy can be used to keep us warm, help our bodies repair or move around.
To the right in an image of a glucose molecule. Each black ball is a carbon atom, each red is an oxygen atom and each white orb is a hydrogen atom.
The link between all these atoms has potential for energy.
If you have every looked on the back of a food packet, you would have seen the nutritional information. All foods contain varying amounts of energy. We measure energy in food in calories.
If we look at a McDonald’s cheeseburger there are 263 calories, this is the equivalent of 45 min of cycling.
Have you every eaten a lot of sugar or gummy bears and gotten a burst of energy. This is because your body has converted the glucose (sugar) into usable energy.
Look what happens when we release all the energy in the gummy bear. When this energy isn’t used in us, it is converted into fat and stored in the body.
