5.

2 More exothermic reactions

Respiration
• All life processes require energy.
Living things obtain their energy
from their food. The process in
which energy is released from food
is called respiration. In this process
a food substance called glucose
reacts with oxygen. The word
equation for this reaction is:

• The energy released in respiration

is used to make substances inside
the body and to make a body
move. Some of the energy is
released as heat.
 3

22. Is food fuel? Explain your answer.

○ Yes – it contains energy which is released
in respiration for use in life processes.
 4

23. Is respiration like burning?

Explain your answer.
○ In some ways – it requires oxygen,
produces carbon dioxide and release
energy. Both reactions produce some
heat from a fuel, but in respiration the fuel
does not burst into flames
Oxidation
• When a substance burns in air reacts with oxygen. This is called an
oxidation reaction. Oxygen combines with elements in the substance to
form a compound. In the examples in this chapter, incomplete combustion
causes carbon in a fuel to be oxidized to carbon monoxide. Complete
combustion results in carbon being oxidized to carbon dioxide. Oxidation
also occurs in respiration where the carbon in glucose is oxidized to carbon
dioxide.
• Rusting is another example of oxidation. When water vapour from the air
condenses on iron or steel it forms a film on the surface of the metal.
Oxygen dissolves in the water and reacts with the metal to form iron oxide.
This forms brown flakes of rust, which break off from the surface and
expose more metal to the oxygen dissolved in the water. The iron or steel
continues to produce rust until it has completely corroded. The word
equation for the reaction is:
Hand warmers and rusting
• Rusting is an exothermic reaction but as the reaction is slow the heat is
produced in small amounts and quickly spread into the air so that a rusting
object does not feel warm. Useful heat can be produced from rusting in the
design of some kinds of hand warmers. Iron powder is mixed with particles
of charcoal (carbon), salt water and an insulating substance such as
vermiculite. All these constituents of the hand warmer are enclosed in a
sealed airtight package. When the hand warmer is required the seal broken
and air mixes and the constituents, so that an oxidation reaction takes
place between the iron powder and oxygen. The salt water acts as catalyst
and speeds up the reaction so a large quantity of heat can be produced
quickly. The carbon particles take up the heat and spread it out through the
package, while the insulating material prevents it escaping too quickly so
that a smaller amount of heat is released steadily to warm the hands.
Reaction of metals with water
• Metal + water  metal hydroxide + hydrogen
• Potassium + water  potassium hydroxide + hydrogen
Reaction of metals with acid
• Metal + hydrochloric acid  metal chloride + hydrogen
• Magnesium + hydrochloric acid  magnesium chloride + hydrogen
• Metal + sulfuric acid  metal sulfate + hydrogen
• Potassium + sulfuric acid  potassium sulfate + hydrogen
• Metal + nitric acid  metal nitrate + hydrogen
• Sodium + nitric acid  sodium nitrate + hydrogen