Thermal Energy
What do particles do that creates thermal energy?
move and vibrate
Which had more thermal energy: the hot water or the cold water?
The hot water
What direction does heat move naturally?
From warmer to cooler objects.
What is the transfer of energy between 2 solid objects that are touching?
Conduction
If particles move faster, does the thermal energy increase or decrease?
Increase
If you add food coloring to hot water, will its particles spread faster or slower compared with cold water?
Faster
What happens to the hotter object's temperature when it transfers heat to something cooler?
The hotter object becomes cooler (its temperature falls).
What is the transfer of energy in moving gases or liquids?
Convection
Name one way thermal energy can be produced by motion between surfaces (rubbing hands).
Friction
Why does the food coloring move faster in hot water? (Use particle idea.)
Particles in hot water move faster and bump into the coloring more, spreading it quicker.
Name the three ways thermal energy can transfer.
Conduction, convection, and radiation.
What is the energy that comes from a a source in the form of particles or waves?
Radiation
Explain why a metal spoon in hot soup can feel hot at the handle after a while (use conduction).
Heat travels through the touching metal by conduction as vibrating particles pass energy along.
If you had two cups, one hot and one cold, and you dropped the same candy into each, which cup would melt the candy faster and why?
The hot cup, because its particles have more thermal energy and transfer heat faster.
Give an example of radiation from everyday life.
The Sun warming the Earth, or feeling heat from a campfire.
What transfers heat easily?
Conductor
Describe how the law of conservation of energy applies when you rub your hands and they get warm.
The energy of motion (work) changes into thermal energy; energy is not created or destroyed, only transformed.
Explain how temperature and total thermal energy are different using hot water vs. a large tub of warm water.
Temperature measures average particle motion; thermal energy depends on both temperature and amount of material. A large tub of warm water can have more thermal energy than a small cup of hotter water even if its temperature is lower.
Describe how conduction, convection, and radiation could all be involved when heating soup on a stove and then serving it.
Conduction: heat moves from the burner to the pot and through the pot metal to the soup; Convection: hot soup rises and cooler soup sinks, creating currents that spread heat; Radiation: heat radiates from the hot pot and steam into the air.