A candle and a firework both can be ignited with a spark, but they release different amounts of energy as they burn. Compare and contrast the potential energy diagrams that would represent each of these burning processes.

Question

anonymous · Answer

A firework releases its chemical potential energy very fast (the expansion is greater than the speed of sound and the "pop" you hear is the shockwave caused by the supersonic expansion), while a candle releases its energy over a long period of time (you can burn a candle all day). 

The potential energy diagrams would look the same until we peak at the activation energy. The firework would have a very steep downward slope, while a candle would have a shallow downward slope.