CHEM 181 Chapter : woc 15- green tea.docx

• School: McGill University
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: CHEM 181
• Professor: David Harpp

Document Summary

So empty calories and zero calories are no good; so cola-cola has come up with the product enviga, a green tea based drink that is supposed to burn more calories (it has negative calories). Dr. applebaum claims that it increases calorie burning: however, calories cannot be burned ; they are a unit of measure. A food calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a kilogram of water by 1 degree celsius. When a substance burns, it releases heat. If a piece of pie is said to contain 300 calories, then combusting it in a closed chamber called a calorimeter will produce enough energy to heat 300 kg of water by 1 degree. The body can also burn that piece of cake, meaning that 300 calories worth of energy is released as a series of chemical reactions decompose, or metabolize, the cake"s fats, carbs and proteins.