Final answer:
An internal combustion engine converts chemical energy into rotational or linear motion by transforming the potential energy in fuel into mechanical kinetic energy, through the process of combustion inside an engine's cylinders.
Step-by-step explanation:
The internal combustion engine converts chemical energy into rotational or linear motion. In the combustion process, chemical energy, which is a type of potential energy stored within the chemical bonds of fuel like gasoline, is transformed into mechanical energy, which is a form of kinetic energy. When gasoline combusts within an engine's cylinders, the expanding gases push against the pistons, causing them to move and generate rotational or linear force which ultimately propels a vehicle.
Other examples of energy conversion include a dynamo, which converts rotational kinetic energy into electrical energy, and living organisms like humans who can convert the chemical energy in food into kinetic energy used for movement