In a combustion reaction, do the products or the reactants store more energy?
It is the products right? As heat energy goes into the products.
Potential energy is greater in the reactants. Heat is lost in the reaction, so the products have lower energy. Imagine wood before it burns.
In a combustion reaction, both the reactants and the products have different levels of stored energy. The reactants typically have higher potential energy than the products.
During a combustion reaction, heat energy is released, and this heat energy comes from the stored potential energy in the reactants. As the reactants undergo combustion and react with oxygen, new chemical bonds form in the products, resulting in a decrease in potential energy. This decrease in potential energy is accompanied by the release of heat energy.
So, while it is correct to say that heat energy is transferred to the products during a combustion reaction, the overall potential energy of the products is generally lower than that of the reactants. This is because some of the energy that was stored in the reactants has been converted into heat energy, which is released into the surroundings.