Introduction to Thermochemistry (START HERE)

1. Introduction

Energy is defined as the capacity of a substance or system to do work. Energy—including the development and export of natural resources such as coal, natural gas, oil, and bitumen from oil sand—is an important part of Alberta’s economy. Energy is also an important part of your daily life. You rely heavily on fossil fuels to provide energy to heat your home and to power the machinery, equipment, electronics, and more that are part of almost every part of your life.

 

Energy can come in a variety of forms. Almost all of the events that occurred earlier in your day today involved energy in some form. Your alarm clock’s conversion of electrical energy into sound energy may have woken you up. Your water heater’s transformation of chemical potential energy from natural gas or another fuel into thermal energy probably provided the warm water for your shower. In this module you will investigate the quantity of energy involved in your daily activities.

 

Module 1 will focus on various energy sources and will consider those sources within the context of providing energy for the activities you enjoy. You will learn ways to measure and calculate energy change during chemical reactions.

 

In Module 1 you will investigate the following questions:

• Should energy be given a higher priority when making decisions about society’s future?

• How does society use the energy of chemical changes?

• What are the impacts of energy use on the environment?

• How does society use knowledge of the energy associated with chemical processes to promote sustainability?

• In what ways have issues of energy use affected the development of past and present societies?

In Module 2 you will keep investigating energy changes in chemical reactions by focusing on changes that occur at the molecular level.

 

You will continue the ecotour planning you began in Module 1 by considering using biodiesel in vehicles required by your ecotour. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can be produced from waste cooking or other oils. You will consider the production and use of biodiesel from a variety of perspectives.

 

In Module 2 you will investigate the following question:

• What energy changes must be considered when designing chemical systems?

You will also continue to address the Module 1 questions:

• Should energy be given a higher priority when making decisions about society’s future?

• How does society use the energy of chemical changes?

• What are the impacts of energy use on the environment?

• How does society use knowledge of the energy associated with chemical processes to promote sustainability?

• In what ways have issues of energy use affected the development of past and present societies?