Final answer:
The company's claim that their generator can convert 1,000 joules of chemical energy into 1,200 joules of electrical energy is incorrect as it violates the First Law of Thermodynamics; no energy conversion process can have more than 100% efficiency.
Step-by-step explanation:
The claim from a company that their newest generator design can convert 1,000 joules of chemical energy into 1,200 joules of electrical energy cannot be correct based on the law of conservation of energy which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form into another.
The maximum amount of electrical energy that can be generated would be equal to or less than the chemical energy input, not more. This principle suggests that the claim made by the company violates the fundamental laws of physics, specifically the First Law of Thermodynamics, which is a version of the law of conservation of energy tailored for thermodynamic systems.
According to efficiencies of various devices provided in tables from LibreTexts, while some devices like a large electrical generator can be approximately 99% efficient in converting mechanical to electrical energy, no process can result in more energy output than input; this is described as having an efficiency greater than 100%, which is physically impossible. Therefore, the conclusion we can draw about the company's generator design is option D: It is impossible to create more energy than was input.