What is thermochemistry?

Thermochemistry is about how energy changes when things heat up or cool down during chemical reactions.

Imagine you're baking cookies. When you mix ingredients and put them in the oven, they get hot, that’s energy moving around. Thermochemistry studies exactly how much energy moves in or out of a reaction, like your cookie dough getting warm from the heat of the oven.

Thermochemistry looks at heat, which is just energy moving from one place to another. If a reaction feels hot, like when you light a match, that means it’s releasing energy. If something feels cold, like ice melting in your hand, it's absorbing energy.

Think about burning wood. When you light a fire, the wood releases heat, that’s thermochemistry in action. Or when you boil water, the water takes in heat from the stove. Both are simple examples of how energy moves during changes in matter.

So next time you feel the warmth of the sun or shiver from cold air, remember: you're experiencing thermochemistry every day!