The Law of Conservation of Energy tells us that energy is never created or destroyed. It is only transformed between different forms and transferred from place to place. Potential energy is energy embodied in the positional arrangement of things. Kinetic energy is the energy of movement.

Is energy an important economic issue? The Energy Information Agency of the Department of Energy (DOE) contains information on the energy prices of all types of energy sources. Please go to the site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/price.html. Under the "Fuel" button, look for the prices of crude oil and gasoline for the past year or two. How has the price changed over time and in different regions? Can you suggest reasons for the trends you observe?

Although we classify energy as kinetic or potential, we also recognize that it expresses itself as heat, light, wind, etc.

Let's revisit the DOE site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/whatsenergy.html. What types of energy sources are listed for meeting the energy needs of municipalities? Based on the discussion on this page and the links within - which energy sources best meet the needs of the state or city you live in? Why?

Energy exchange is a part of all chemical reactions.

The University of Exeter (U.K.) Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching has a site at http://www.ex.ac.uk/cimt/dictunit/ccenrgy.htm that is a converter among energy units. A bowl of sweetened cereal has, give or take, 150 food Calories, which is the same as 150,000 thermodynamic calories (1 Calorie = 1000 calories). How much is this in joules and kilojoules? Some of the units listed in the converter are most unusual. Pick two of them and find applications for them. For example, who uses a "horsepower-hour" and why?

Energy is required to break bonds and is released when bonds are formed. We can use "average bond energies" to estimate the energy released or absorbed in a chemical reaction.

In this section of the text, we discuss the use of hydrogen peroxide as a rocket fuel. There are all kinds of different criteria for selecting a proper rocket fuel. The NASA site at http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/count2.htm gives some of these. Please write a 3-page report on some modern fuels and their advantages and disadvantages. Surf the Internet for other reputable sources in order to supplement your information.

Chemical (and physical) reactions occur spontaneously in the direction that leads to an increase in the entropy ("disorder") of the universe. This can be brought about by the net dispersal of energy and/or matter. A non-spontaneous process can be driven forward by coupling it to a spontaneous process such that the combination of the two processes becomes spontaneous.

The Gillette Company makes Duracell batteries. The have a nifty description of their batteries for all manner of products at http://www.duracell.com/home_f.asp. All of these batteries generate electricity via spontaneous chemical reactions. List some of the types of batteries that the company makes, and why each type is useful for its particular application.

The main factors influencing reaction rates are temperature, concentration and the presence of catalysts.

BASF is a huge multinational chemical company which produces, among other types of products, catalysts. Recall from this section of the text that catalysts sharply increase the rate of a chemical reaction without themselves being consumed. Please go to the BASF site at http://www.basf.de/en/produkte/chemikalien/catalysts/cat/. You will note several classes of reactions that use catalysts. What are some common features of the catalysts, no matter what the application? What are some common applications? Perhaps surprising applications? Find on the BASF site data on catalyst sales. Is this a big business?

Learning about energy helps us to understand many of the choices faced in everyday life and helps us to make the choices most appropriate to our circumstances.

Find a Web site with examples and/or data to prove the above statement true or false.