chemical energy

(noun)

The net potential energy liberated or absorbed during the course of a chemical reaction.

Related Terms

  • potential energy
  • kinetic energy

Examples of chemical energy in the following topics:

  • Types of Energy

    • The various types of energy include kinetic, potential, and chemical energy.
    • On a chemical level, the bonds that hold the atoms of molecules together have potential energy.
    • This type of potential energy is called chemical energy, and like all potential energy, it can be used to do work.
    • For example, chemical energy is contained in the gasoline molecules that are used to power cars.
    • The molecules in gasoline (octane, the chemical formula shown) contain chemical energy.
  • The Role of Energy and Metabolism

    • All organisms require energy to complete tasks; metabolism is the set of the chemical reactions that release energy for cellular processes.
    • Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical processes that enables organisms transform the chemical energy stored in molecules into energy that can be used for cellular processes.
    • Plants convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy stored in molecules during the process of photosynthesis.
    • Some of these chemical reactions are spontaneous and release energy, whereas others require energy to proceed.
    • For every action that requires energy, many chemical reactions take place to provide chemical energy to the systems of the body, including muscles, nerves, heart, lungs, and brain.
  • Transforming Chemical Energy

    • Cellular respiration is the process of transforming chemical energy into forms usable by the cell or organism.
    • An electrical energy plant converts energy from one form to another form that can be more easily used .
    • For example, geothermal energy plants start with underground thermal energy (heat) and transform it into electrical energy that will be transported to homes and factories.
    • ATP is the principle form of stored energy used for cellular functions and is frequently referred to as the energy currency of the cell.
    • This geothermal energy plant transforms thermal energy from deep in the ground into electrical energy, which can be easily used.
  • The First Law of Thermodynamics

    • Thermodynamics is the study of heat energy and other types of energy, such as work, and the various ways energy is transferred within chemical systems.
    • For instance, light bulbs transform electrical energy into light energy, and gas stoves transform chemical energy from natural gas into heat energy.
    • Plants perform one of the most biologically useful transformations of energy on Earth: they convert the energy of sunlight into the chemical energy stored within organic molecules.
    • Humans can convert the chemical energy in food, like this ice cream cone, into kinetic energy by riding a bicycle.
    • Plants can convert electromagnetic radiation (light energy) from the sun into chemical energy.
  • Metabolism of Carbohydrates

    • These large polysaccharides contain many chemical bonds and therefore store a lot of chemical energy.
    • When these molecules are broken down during metabolism, the energy in the chemical bonds is released and can be harnessed for cellular processes.
    • Inside the cell, each sugar molecule is broken down through a complex series of chemical reactions.
    • As chemical energy is released from the bonds in the monosaccharide, it is harnessed to synthesize high-energy adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules.
    • During photosynthesis, plants convert light energy into chemical energy by building carbon dioxide gas molecules (CO2) into sugar molecules like glucose.
  • The Purpose and Process of Photosynthesis

    • The process of photosynthesis converts light energy to chemical energy, which can be used by organisms for different metabolic processes.
    • To get this energy, many organisms access stored energy by eating food.
    • All of this energy can be traced back to the process of photosynthesis and light energy from the sun.
    • It is the only biological process that captures energy from outer space (sunlight) and converts it into chemical energy in the form of G3P ( Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate) which in turn can be made into sugars and other molecular compounds.
    • A third very interesting group of bacteria synthesize sugars, not by using sunlight's energy, but by extracting energy from inorganic chemical compounds; hence, they are referred to as chemoautotrophs.
  • Free Energy

    • Since chemical reactions release energy when energy-storing bonds are broken, how is the energy associated with chemical reactions quantified and expressed?
    • Gibbs free energy specifically refers to the energy associated with a chemical reaction that is available after accounting for entropy.
    • Every chemical reaction involves a change in free energy, called delta G (∆G).
    • If a chemical reaction requires an input of energy rather than releasing energy, then the ∆G for that reaction will be a positive value.
    • An important concept in the study of metabolism and energy is that of chemical equilibrium.
  • Strategies for Acquiring Energy

    • All living things require energy in one form or another since energy is required by most, complex, metabolic pathways (often in the form of ATP); life itself is an energy-driven process.
    • It is important to understand how organisms acquire energy and how that energy is passed from one organism to another through food webs and their constituent food chains.
    • Photoautotrophs harness the solar energy of the sun by converting it to chemical energy in the form of ATP (and NADP).
    • Many chemoautotrophs in hydrothermal vents use hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is released from the vents, as a source of chemical energy.
    • This allows chemoautotrophs to synthesize complex organic molecules, such as glucose, for their own energy and in turn supplies energy to the rest of the ecosystem.
  • Metabolic Pathways

    • An anabolic pathway requires energy and builds molecules while a catabolic pathway produces energy and breaks down molecules.
    • Catabolic pathways involve the degradation of complex molecules into simpler ones, releasing the chemical energy stored in the bonds of those molecules.
    • Other energy-storing molecules, such as lipids, are also broken down through similar catabolic reactions to release energy and make ATP.
    • Chemical reactions in metabolic pathways rarely take place spontaneously.
    • Enzymes are important for catalyzing all types of biological reactions: those that require energy as well as those that release energy.
  • Activation Energy

    • This small amount of energy input necessary for all chemical reactions to occur is called the activation energy (or free energy of activation) and is abbreviated EA.
    • During chemical reactions, certain chemical bonds are broken and new ones are formed.
    • Heat energy (the total bond energy of reactants or products in a chemical reaction) speeds up the motion of molecules, increasing the frequency and force with which they collide.
    • The higher the activation energy, the slower the chemical reaction will be.
    • The Arrhenius equations relates the rate of a chemical reaction to the magnitude of the activation energy:
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