Thermal Energy Basics
This is the movement of energy from a warmer object to a cooler object.
What is heat?
Heat moves from objects at this temperature to objects at a lower temperature.
What is a higher temperature?
When a substance warms up, its particles generally move this way.
What is faster?
Ice changes into liquid water through this process.
What is melting?
Hot chocolate left on a desk eventually cools because it transfers heat to these cooler surroundings.
What are the air and objects around it?
The faster particles move, the higher this measurement usually is.
What is temperature?
A metal spoon warms up while sitting in hot soup. This type of heat transfer occurs through direct contact.
What is conduction?
Particles in this state of matter stay in place but vibrate.
What is a solid?
Liquid water changes into water vapor through this process.
What is evaporation or boiling?
When two objects in contact reach the same temperature, they reach this condition.
What is thermal equilibrium?
Thermal energy is related to the motion of these tiny pieces of matter.
What are particles?
You feel warmth from the Sun without touching it. This type of heat transfer can travel through empty space.
What is radiation?
Compared with particles in a liquid, particles in a gas are usually spaced this way.
What is farther apart?
Water vapor turns into liquid droplets on the outside of a cold glass through this process.
What is condensation?
A student puts an ice cube in warm water. Name the direction of heat transfer.
What is from the warm water to the ice cube?
Two cups of water have the same temperature, but one holds more water. This cup has more thermal energy.
What is the cup with more water?
Warm water rises and cooler water sinks in a pot. This type of heat transfer involves moving liquid.
What is convection?
When air cools, its particles move more slowly and usually take up less space. This change in size is called this.
What is thermal contraction?
During melting, a substance gains energy, but its temperature may stay the same because the energy is used to do this.
What is change its state, or separate its particles?
Two identical blocks start at different temperatures and touch. Heat continues to transfer until this is true.
What is both blocks reach the same temperature?
A bathtub of warm water can have more thermal energy than a cup of hot water because it has more of this.
What is matter, or mass?
You hold a cold can of soda in your hands. Identify the direction heat moves.
What is from your hand to the can of soda?
A sealed balloon grows slightly when warmed because its gas particles move faster and push against the balloon more often. This change in size is called this.
What is thermal expansion?
Water droplets form on a cold glass. Identify the object that loses thermal energy: the glass or nearby water vapor.
What is the nearby water vapor?
A large bowl and a small cup of water are both at 25°C. Explain why the bowl can have more thermal energy.
What is the bowl contains more water/has more mass, so it has more particles contributing to its total thermal energy?