definition of calorie chemistry
A calorie is the energy that it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree centigrade. More importantly, a calorie is a unit that you can use to measure the energy in your food. From the Latin calor, âto heat,â a calorie is a measurement of heat energy (it may be called a small calorie or a large calorie). When youâre out of the chemistry lab, youâll most often hear calorie in relation to the energy in food or the energy you burn through exercise. It will also usually be referred to in the plural, as calories.