Tags: chemical bonding, energy
Categories: Alternative conceptions
An example of a common alternative conception:
It is common for learners to think that chemical bonds, or at least some chemical bonds, act as stores of energy – which is released when the bonds are broken.
Actually all chemical bonds require an input of energy to break them, whereas energy is released when new bonds form. (So, in the combustion of methane energy is required to break bonds in the oxygen and methane molecules but overall more energy is released when new bonds form in the water and carbon dioxide molecules.)
See also the more specific conception that ATP contains energy-rich bonds.
