How is chemical energy a form of potential energy

Organisms use energy to survive, grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce, and for every type of biological process. The potential energy stored in molecules can be converted to chemical energy, which can ultimately be converted to kinetic energy, enabling an organism to move. Eventually, most of energy used by organisms is transformed into heat and dissipated. Energy associated with objects in motion is called kinetic energy.

For example, when an airplane is in flight, the airplane is moving through air very quickly—doing work to enact change on its surroundings. The jet engines are converting potential energy in fuel to the kinetic energy of movement.

A wrecking ball can perform a large amount of damage, even when moving slowly. However, a still wrecking ball cannot perform any work and therefore has no kinetic energy. A speeding bullet, a walking person, the rapid movement of molecules in the air that produces heat, and electromagnetic radiation, such as sunlight, all have kinetic energy.

What if that same motionless wrecking ball is lifted two stories above a car with a crane? If the suspended wrecking ball is not moving, is there energy associated with it? Yes, the wrecking ball has energy because the wrecking ball has the potential to do work. This form of energy is called potential energy because it is possible for that object to do work in a given state. Objects transfer their energy between potential and kinetic states.

Once the ball is released, its kinetic energy increases as the ball picks up speed. At the same time, the ball loses potential energy as it nears the ground.

Other examples of potential energy include the energy of water held behind a dam or a person about to skydive out of an airplane. Potential energy vs. Moving water, such as in a waterfall or a rapidly flowing river, has kinetic energy. Potential energy is not only associated with the location of matter, but also with the structure of matter. A spring on the ground has potential energy if it is compressed, as does a rubber band that is pulled taut.

It takes energy to make these molecules and hold them together. The energy stored in molecules is called chemical potential energy. During combustion, bonds are broken and reformed creating new products. The energy stored in gasoline is released by burning it combustion. During combustion, chemical bonds are broken and reformed changing gasoline into byproducts such as water and carbon dioxide releasing energy. There are many examples of chemical potential energy being converted to kinetic energy to do work.

The chemical energy in food is used by our bodies to move. In a lighted firecracker chemical energy is used to make a loud sound and to scatter pieces of the firecracker all over.

A stretched rubber band has the potential to do work or change things. This form of energy is called elastic potential energy. It occurs when an object such as our skin, a spring, a trampoline, or a rubber band resists being stretched out of shape. The elastic potential energy in a rubber band can be used to do work. For example, toy airplanes fly when a rubber band untwists and spins a propeller. The elastic potential energy in the rubber band was converted into kinetic energy.

Electrical potential energy is present when positive and negative electric charges are separated from each other, as is a battery. When you turn on a device that is battery-operated, such as a flashlight or a toy, the electrical potential energy stored in the battery is converted into other forms of energy such as sound, mechanical motion, thermal energy, and light. For an electrical appliance you plug in, the electrical potential energy is maintained by a spinning generator of a power plant, hydroelectric dam, or a windmill.

A solar cell stores electrical potential energy similar to a battery as long as the sun is shining on it. Nuclear potential energy, or nuclear energy, is the energy found in the nuclei of atoms.

The protons in a nucleus exert very strong repulsive forces on each other due to their positive charge. In turn, the neutrons that make up a nucleus exert very strong forces on the protons to keep them from flying apart. Splitting a large nucleus nuclear fission or combining small nuclei into a larger nucleus nuclear fusion overcomes these strong forces and releases energy as a result.

The energy released by an individual nucleus is very small, but huge numbers of nuclei can release huge amounts of energy as evidenced by the energy produced by nuclear reactors fission and by the sun nuclear fusion. Thermal energy is due to the movement, and the kinetic energy associated with this movement, of molecules that make up an object or substance. All objects possess thermal energy even cold ones since they have a temperature above absolute zero.

Chemical energy Chemical energy is energy stored in the bonds of chemical compounds , like atoms and molecules. Burning Questions. What is chemical energy? When a chemical reaction takes place, the stored chemical energy is released. How is chemical energy used? Here are some examples of chemical energy in action:. Chemical energy in food The food we eat contains stored chemical energy.

Chemical energy in wood Dry wood contains stored chemical energy. What are some other examples of stored chemical energy? Stored chemical energy can be found in:. Chemical batteries. Vehicle air bags. Cool Facts We all use chemical energy every day to perform daily functions — you're using chemical energy right now to read this page! Cool Facts Chemical energy can be converted into electrical energy. Teacher's Toolkit Take this to the classroom!

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