Physical Science – Temperature and Heat

Critical Thinking Question: Is there a difference between heat and temperature?

To truly understand this relationship you must know about matter!!!!!

1. What is matter?
- Made up of particles so small that you can’t see them

- Do you remember the kinetic theory of matter?

a. All matter is made up of constantly moving particles
b. The state of matter is dependent on temperature
Review: What are the 3 states of matter?
a. Solid
b. Liquid
c. Gas

2. What is Temperature? It is the measure of the average kinetic energy of

the particles in a sample of matter

a. What does that mean? Since the particles that make up

matter are always moving they have kinetic energy.
Temperature is just the measure of that kinetic energy.

b. What is hot and cold temperature?

- Hot and cold are relative terms that are associated
with an increased or decreased kinetic energy

- If you have a decreased kinetic energy you

temperature is said to be cold and if you have an
increased kinetic energy you have a warmer
temperature

3. Thermal Energy
a. Questions:
What happens when you put a cold piece of metal on
an ice cube? Answer: Nothing

What happens if you put a hot piece of metal on an ice

cube? Answer: The ice cube melts

Why does nothing happen with the cold metal and the
ice cube but something does happen with the hot
metal and ice cube?
Answer: Thermal Energy – Total energy (both
kinetic and potential) of the particles
in a material

*Remember the law of conservation of energy – energy

cannot be destroyed or created under ordinary
conditions, only transferred or changed form. In
 terms of the cold metal and ice cube very little thermal
energy is transferred from one object to the next
because the kinetic energy is very low in each object.
However in the hot metal the kinetic energy is much
greater than in the ice cube so the greater energy will be
transferred to the object with less energy.

Question: What would happen if you added a second

piece of hot metal to the ice cube? Answer: You would
melt twice as much. Why: By adding a second piece of
matter you have doubled the mass of the metal which
means it will have twice as much thermal energy.

b. Do all objects have the same thermal energies when the

mass and temperature are the same?
- No!!!!

- Experiment – Sand vs Water

- Which one did the temperature have a greater
effect on? The water! Why – Remember
sand is a solid and water is a liquid. Solids are
held more tightly together so the kinetic
energy of the particles in sand are not as great
as in water. Because the particles are not held
as tightly in water it is easier to increase the
kinetic energy of the particles that make up
the water than the sand.

*Note: The kinetic energy of the object itself has no

effect on its thermal energy. It is the kinetic
energy of the particles that make up the object
that have the effect on the thermal energy.

C. Heat: is the thermal (or internal) energy that flows from

something with a higher temperature to something
with a lower temperature.

- What happens if you pressed your left hand against a

cool tile? Answer: Your hand would feel cooler – the
temperature decreased

- What would happen if you pressed your right hand

against the same spot on the tile? Answer: The spot
would not feel as cold because of the heat transfer
from the left hand warming up the tile

- Heat is measured in Joules just like Work and

involved the transfer of energy
a. Heat – energy transferred between objects at
different temperatures
b. Work – energy transferred when force acts
over a distance
Back to the initial question: Is there a difference between heat and temperature?
Answer: Yes – temperature is the measure of the amount kinetic energy in
an object and heat is the measure of thermal energy that flows
from an object of a higher temperature to an object with a lower
temperature