Answer to Question #265801 in Chemistry for Nik

Question

(100)Interpret this statement: “Carbon dioxide is an energy-poor molecule, but glucose is an energy-rich molecule.”

Answer 1

Glucose has more chemical bonds that can be rearranged through chemical reactions. The rearrangement of some of these bonds releases energy - thus the bonds in glucose contain much more potential energy. CO2 does not have chemical bonds that can be easily rearranged and thus it has very little chemical energy.