Final answer:
When bonds break, energy can be used to form new molecules, as new bonds are formed and existing ones are broken during chemical reactions, releasing or absorbing energy.
Step-by-step explanation:
When bonds break, energy can be used to form new molecules. Breaking chemical bonds requires an input of energy, and when new bonds form, that process usually releases energy, often as heat. In chemical reactions, atoms or groups of atoms in the substances react to form new substances, and the bonds between them are rearranged. This involves breaking the original bonds, which store potential energy, and then forming new bonds, which releases some of this energy.
Bond energies are characteristic for different types of bonds, like ionic bonds and covalent bonds. For instance, covalent bonds have bond dissociation energies that need to be overcome to break them. Ionic bonds are associated with lattice energies due to the electrostatic attraction between ions. Chemical processes are labeled as exothermic or endothermic based on whether they give off or absorb energy, respectively.