Which statement about calories and kilocalories is true?

Which statement about calories and kilocalories is true?

• A. A kilocalorie is defined as 1/1000 of a Calorie
• B. A Calorie is the same as a calorie
• C. A Calorie is the energy equivalent to 1 calorie
• D. A Calorie (Cal) is the energy equivalent to 1000 calories

Answer: (D)

In nutrition, the term Calorie with a capital C represents a kilocalorie. That means one Calorie is equal to 1000 of the small calories (cal). So the energy you see on food labels is measured in Calories (kilocalories), not in the tiny calories used in physics. Concretely, 1 Calorie (Cal) = 1 kilocalorie = 1000 calories, and 1 Calorie equals 4184 joules. For example, a 2000 Calorie-per-day diet means about 2000 kilocalories, i.e., 2,000 × 4184 J = 8.368 × 10^6 J. This is why the statement that a Calorie is the energy equivalent to 1000 calories is true. The other options mix up the relationships or treat Calorie and calorie as the same unit, which they are not.

In nutrition, the term Calorie with a capital C represents a kilocalorie. That means one Calorie is equal to 1000 of the small calories (cal). So the energy you see on food labels is measured in Calories (kilocalories), not in the tiny calories used in physics. Concretely, 1 Calorie (Cal) = 1 kilocalorie = 1000 calories, and 1 Calorie equals 4184 joules. For example, a 2000 Calorie-per-day diet means about 2000 kilocalories, i.e., 2,000 × 4184 J = 8.368 × 10^6 J. This is why the statement that a Calorie is the energy equivalent to 1000 calories is true. The other options mix up the relationships or treat Calorie and calorie as the same unit, which they are not.