This subject is also of great importance in the chemical industry. It also forms the basis for our understanding of many biochemical processes as well a inorganic and organic chemistry. It is left to the student to read the opening paragraphs. The Law of Conservation of Energy - energy can neither be created of destroyed but can be interconverted between one form and another. Potential Energy - the energy a system possesses as a result of its position or composition.
Heat is a form of energy as it is transferred due to a temperature difference.
When two objects at different temperatures are brought together, the temperature does not become the average. Work - A force acting moving something over a distance. Pathway - the detailed mechnism of the process. The pathway determines how much is converted to heat and how much to work. The total energy change is constant no matter what the pathway.