What happens in an exothermic reaction?

What happens in an exothermic reaction?

• A. The surroundings get colder.
• B. The surroundings get warmer.
• C. The surrounding temperature remains unchanged.
• D. Heat is absorbed by the surroundings.

Answer: (B)

In an exothermic reaction, energy is released to the surroundings as heat, so the surroundings get warmer. The system loses energy overall, meaning bonds forming release more energy than is used to break bonds. That released energy shows up as heat you can feel in the environment, like when a flame or a chemical reaction warms the air or a container. If the surroundings got colder, or if heat were absorbed by the surroundings, that would be an endothermic process. If there were no change in temperature, there would be no heat exchange with the surroundings.

In an exothermic reaction, energy is released to the surroundings as heat, so the surroundings get warmer. The system loses energy overall, meaning bonds forming release more energy than is used to break bonds. That released energy shows up as heat you can feel in the environment, like when a flame or a chemical reaction warms the air or a container.

If the surroundings got colder, or if heat were absorbed by the surroundings, that would be an endothermic process. If there were no change in temperature, there would be no heat exchange with the surroundings.