Question

When wood is burned, energy is released in the form of heat and light. Describe the reaction, and explain why this reaction does not violate the law of conservation of energy. Use the terms combustion, exothermic, and chemical energy.

Answer 1

When wood is burned, it undergoes a chemical reaction called combustion, which releases energy in the form of heat and light. This reaction does not violate the law of conservation of energy because the energy released is derived from the chemical energy stored in the bonds of the wood.

Step-by-step explanation:

When wood is burned, it undergoes a chemical reaction called combustion. This reaction involves the wood reacting with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water vapor, and heat. This process is exothermic, meaning it releases energy in the form of heat and light.

The reaction does not violate the law of conservation of energy because the energy released during combustion is derived from the chemical energy stored in the bonds of the wood. The energy needed to break the bonds in the wood is less than the energy released when new bonds are formed in the products. Therefore, the total energy before and after the reaction remains the same, and the law of conservation of energy is upheld.

Answer 2

Wood has chemical energy stored in the bonds between the atoms in molecules like cellulose.  When it burns, oxygen reacts with the carbon molecules and releases that heat, making it exothermic.  This is called combustion and that produces carbon dioxide and water (usually as a vapor becuase it's hot!)  The energy is conserved, just converted between bonds and heat and light