CHAPTERS 6: THERMOCHEMISTRY
Chapter 6: Thermochemistry
Energy is the essence of our very existence as individuals and as a society. The food that we eat furnishes the energy to live, work, and play, just as the coal and oil consumed by manufacturing and transportation systems power our modern industrialized civilization. In the past, huge quantities of carbon-based fossil fuels have been available for the taking. This abundance of fuels has led to a world society with a voracious appetite for energy, consuming millions of barrels of petroleum every day. We are now dangerously dependent on the dwindling supplies of oil, and this dependence is an important source of tension among nations in today's world. There are also additional problems with fossil fuels. The waste products from burning fossil fuels significantly affect our environment. For example, when a carbon-based fuel is burned, the carbon reacts with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, which is released into the atmosphere. Just as energy is important to our society on a macroscopic scale, it is critically important to each living organism on a microscopic scale. The living cell is a miniature chemical factory powered by energy from chemical reactions. The process of cellular respiration extracts the energy stored in sugars and other nutrients to drive the various tasks of the cell. Whether it is an engine or a cell that is converting energy from one form to another, the processes are all governed by the same principles, which we will begin to explore in this chapter.
|
|
|
|
|
|