I am very confused and am hearing conflicting thoughts on bond energy.
So if a chemical bond is strong, it is stable. Does it have lower energy or higher energy than a weaker bond?
let's break it down now... hammer time
stronger bonds (either because they are double/triple bonded or b/c they have a shorter bond length), along with other factors, make a chemical species more "stable" (review ochem to get a grasp on stability).
Equilibrium in a reaction favors lower energy and stability. If a product is lower energy w/ respect to the reactant species, the equillibrium will shift right (it will naturally have a higher concentration of product) making it "product favored". If the reactant is lower energy, the equil. will shift left towards the reactants meaning that there will be a higher concentration of reactants.
ok, that's great, but we still have to "hammer" on...
Things that are stable are low energy (think of a rock, unmoving in the forrest).
Things that are unstable are high energy (think of an obnoxious 3yr old running around and screaming).
That being said, we still have to talk about BOND STRENGTH and the ENERGY required to break strong or weak bonds.
It's hard to break a ROCK (low energy substance) b/c its BONDS are STRONG.
It's easy to break a TODDLER (high energy substance) b/c his BONDS (relative to a rock) are WEAK.
thus, we see how a strong bond -> stable chem. species -> tough bond to break -> alot of energy is required to break a stable, low energy chemical species with strong bonds.
am I right, or am I right?
*no offense to toddler, I have 5yr old brother who I love. It's just that taboo or socially unacceptable thoughts stick in your head, so if you associate them with tricky concepts, the concepts get stuck in that head of yours with that taboo-image