General ---------Biology----------------------------------------------------- ------------------Online--------------------------------wilcox@sunline.net Ch. 6  Metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, nucleic acids

"Organisms transform energy." Examples:  green plants transform radiant energy into chemical energy; we eat green plants (chemical energy) and transform them into kinetic energy when we run.

Energy can be stored as potential energy. Examples of potential kinetic energy are:
        a child atop a slide, or
        water behind a dam.

For each of the items below, list the energy form (chemical, kinetic, radiant).
 

Energy can be transformed from one form to another form.  The gasoline in your car's engine is chemical energy; add a spark and this chemical energy is transformed into the ________ energy of expanding gas molecules; these moving molecules push pistons and transform the expanding gas molecules into the ___________ energy of a car moving down the road; drive the car up a very steep hill and park it (use the hand brake), and  some of the energy used to climb the hill is stored as potential kinetic energy.

Which of the following is the most randomized form of energy and the least useful to anabolic chemical pathways?
     a. light
     b. electrical
     c. kinetic (heat or thermal energy)
     d. mechanical
     e. chemical potential energy
answer