Chemical Reactions and Energy

Vocabulary flashcards covering chemical reactions, metabolic reactions, energy transfer, forms of energy, and biological catalysts.

Chemical reactions

Processes that occur when new bonds are formed or old bonds are broken.

Reactants

Starting substances in a chemical reaction.

Products

Ending substances in a chemical reaction.

Metabolism

All reactions in a body.

Catabolic reactions

Reactions that release energy by breaking down larger molecules into smaller ones.

Anabolic reactions

Reactions that require energy to form larger molecules from smaller ones.

Exergonic reactions

Reactions in which reactants have greater energy than products, thereby releasing energy.

Endergonic reactions

Reactions in which products have greater energy than reactants, thereby requiring energy.

Activation energy

Energy required to initially start a chemical reaction.

Energy

The capacity to do work.

Types of energy

Potential energy, kinetic energy, and chemical energy.

Law of conservation of energy

Principle stating that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but it can be converted from one form to another.

Catalysts

Substances that lower activation energy requirements and speed up chemical reactions.

Enzymes

Biological catalysts.