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Potential energy is energy something has because of its position (for example, a ball high in the air or a magnet held apart from another magnet)

Fuels contain chemical energy, which is actually a type of potential energy...

After you have burnt the fuel, the products (like carbon dioxide or water) contain the same atoms as the fuel did, but they are arranged in a different way. This new way of arranging the atoms contains less energy, and the left-over energy is changed to heat and light.

The reason that different arrangements of atoms contain different amounts of chemical potential energy is that the electrical charges (positive and negative) are spaced out differently, attracting or repelling each other. For example, two positive charges close together "want" to move away from each other, so they have electrical potential energy.

This means that chemical energy is really potential energy.

To take it a stage further: A Chemistry teacher will tell you that if you weigh all the stuff you are left with after burning (ash, gases and smoke), together it will weigh exactly the same as the stuff you had before burning (fuel and oxygen). That is not quite true! In fact, a tiny tiny tiny bit of mass (stuff) has been lost. This is because all potential energy is really mass. When the fuel burns, a tiny bit of its mass is changed to light and heat energy. All the light and heat coming out is made like this. A lot more mass changes to energy in a nuclear reaction.

You only need a miniscule amount of mass to make a huge amount of energy (a nuclear bomb changes about 3kg (7lb) of matter into energy.

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The energy stored in foods and fuels is potential energy?

Yes, that's correct. The potential energy stored in foods and fuels is released when these substances are burned or metabolized, converting the potential energy into forms such as heat, light, or mechanical energy.


Are fuels stores of energy?

Yes, fuels are stores of energy because they contain chemical potential energy that can be released through combustion to produce heat and power. This energy is harnessed for various applications such as generating electricity in power plants or powering vehicles.


What kind of potential energy is energy stored in foods and fuels?

This is chemical energy, since chemical reactions are required to release it


Fuels contains a store of energy called....?

Fossil fuels contain potential chemical energy, which is released by combination with oxygen. Uranium contains potential energy which can be released by splitting the atomic nucleus, this results in a loss of mass which produces a burst of energy through the relation E = mc2. This energy drives the fission fragments apart, they are then slowed by the surrounding uranium and this produces heat or thermal energy.


What does fossil fuels contain from the sun's radiant energy?

Fossil fuels contain energy that originally came from the sun, which was absorbed by plants through photosynthesis millions of years ago. This energy is stored in the form of carbon compounds in fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. When these fuels are burned, they release this stored energy in the form of heat and light.

Related Questions

What kind of energy do fossil fuels contain?

potential


What form of energy do fuels contain?

Fossil fuels contain chemical energy.


A special from of potential energy stored in fuels?

Chemical energy - this includes the energy stored in fuels - is a type of potential energy.


Are Petrol and kerosene oil whice type of energy these fuels possess?

Petrol and kerosene oil are both fossil fuels that contain chemical potential energy. When burned, these fuels release energy in the form of heat and light.


The energy stored in foods and fuels is potential energy?

Yes, that's correct. The potential energy stored in foods and fuels is released when these substances are burned or metabolized, converting the potential energy into forms such as heat, light, or mechanical energy.


Is fossil fuels kinetic or potential energy?

I would actually describe the energy as chemical, as the energy is being used to hold the chemical bonds of the hydrocarbons together. But it is certainly not kinetic, so give these two choices the answer is potential. It is potential energy waiting for a chemical reaction.


Are fuels stores of energy?

Yes, fuels are stores of energy because they contain chemical potential energy that can be released through combustion to produce heat and power. This energy is harnessed for various applications such as generating electricity in power plants or powering vehicles.


Where does the energy of fossil fuels come from?

potential


What is the energy stored in fossil fuels such as coal?

Chemical potential energy


A type of potential energy that is made from fossil fuels?

chemical energy


What type of potential energy that is made of fossil fuels?

thermal energy


What forms of matter contain a lot of potential energy?

Any forms of matter contain a lot of potential energy.