Chapter 16

Thermal Energy
& Heat
 Objectives:
 1. Explain how heat and work transfer
energy
 2. Relate thermal energy to the motion of
particles that make up a material
 3. Relate temperature to thermal energy
and to thermal expansion
 4. Calculate thermal energy, temperature
change, or mass using the specific heat
equation
• Def: heat is the transfer of thermal energy
from one object to another because of
temperature difference
• Heat flows spontaneously from hot
objects to cold objects
• Def: temperature is a measure of how hot
or cold an object is compared to a
reference point
• On the Celsius scale, the reference points
are the freezing point and boiling point of
water
 Another reference point is called
absolute zero
 Absolute zero is on the Kelvin scale
 It is the lowest temperature known
 There are no negative values on the
Kelvin scale
 Temperature is related to the average
kinetic energy of particles in an object
due to their random motions through
space
• Recall that thermal energy is the total potential
and kinetic energy of all the particles in an object
• Thermal energy depends on the mass,
temperature and phase (solid, liquid, gas) of an
object
• Def: thermal expansion is an increase in the
volume of a material due to a temperature
increase
• Thermal expansion occurs when particles of
matter move farther apart as temperature
increases
 Def: Specific heat is the amount of energy
transferred as heat that will raise the
temperature of 1 kg of substance by 1 K
 Little c is the symbol for specific heat, &
specific heat is a physical property
 The units for specific heat are J/kg-K
 We will assume that volume & pressure do
not change in order to do calculations
involving the formula energy = specific
heat x mass x temperature change OR
energy = cm∆t (the ∆ means change & is
the final temperature minus the initial
temperature)
 Objectives:
 1. Describe conduction, convection and
radiation & identify which one of these
is occurring in a given situation
 2. Classify materials as thermal
conductors or thermal insulators
 3. State the 3 laws of thermodynamics
 4. Apply the first & second laws to
given situations
 Def: conduction is the transfer of thermal
energy with no overall transfer of matter
 Conduction is the heat energy transfer between
particles as they collide within a substance or
between objects in contact (ex: roasting
marshmallows using a wire coat hanger)
 Conduction in gases is slower than in liquids
and solids because the particles of gas collide
less often
 Def: a thermal conductor is a material
that conducts thermal energy well
 Def: a thermal insulator is a material that
conducts thermal energy poorly
 Def: convection is the transfer of thermal
energy when particles of a fluid move
from one place to another
 Convection is the heat energy transfer by
movement of fluids with different
temperatures (ex: warm air rising, cools,
condenses, becomes dense and sinks)
 A convection current is the flow of
liquid due to heated expansion
followed by cooling and contraction
 Convection currents are important in
many natural cycles such as ocean
currents, weather systems, and
movements of hot rock in Earth’s
interior in the asthenosphere under the
lithospheric plates
 Def: radiation is the transfer of energy
by waves moving through space
 Radiation does not require physical
contact between objects
 Radiation does not involve
movement of matter & can take
place in a vacuum (ex: the radiation
we receive from the sun is in a
vacuum)
 All objects radiate energy

 As an object’s temperature increases,

the rate at which it radiates energy
increases
 Q: What is radiation?
 Def: thermodynamics is the study of
conversions between thermal energy
and other forms of energy
 The First Law of Thermodynamics
states that energy is conserved
 The Second Law of Thermodynamics
states that thermal energy can flow
from colder objects to hotter objects
only if work is done on the system
 Def: waste heat is thermal energy
that is not converted into work
 Spontaneous changes and waste
heat always make a system less
orderly
 The Third Law of
Thermodynamics states that
absolute zero cannot be reached
 Scientists have gotten close, but
have not been able to do this
 Objectives:
 1. Describe heat engines and
explain how they convert thermal
energy to mechanical energy
 2. Describe how different heating
systems operate
 3. Describe how cooling systems
operate
 Def: a heat engine is any device that
converts heat into work
 The two main types of heat engines
are the external combustion engine
and the internal combustion engine
 Def: the external combustion engine
is an engine that burns fuel outside
the engine
 Ex: steam engine
 Def: an internal combustion is a
heat engine in which fuel burns
inside the engine
 Ex: your car

 Both types of engines have

pistons that move either back
and forth or up and down
 Some waste energy is
discharged
 The principles of transfer of heat allow us to
design buildings that can be heated and
cooled efficiently
 Recall that total energy is conserved whether
it is transferred due to work, heat or both
 This is called the first law of
thermodynamics
 Secondly, energy transferred as heat always
moves from an object of high temperature to
an object at low temperature
 A heating system is any device or
process that transfers energy to a
substance to raise the temperature of
the substance
 Work can be done to raise
temperatures
 Mechanical processes are energy
transfer done by work
 Def: a central heating system heats
many room from one central location
(often the basement)
 Most heating systems use convection
to distribute thermal energy
 Hot water heating is usually by boiler,
heating oil or natural gas
 A pump circulates the water to radiators in
each room that transfer energy by
conduction
 Most heating systems use these principles
 A refrigerator is a heat pump
 It transfer thermal energy from the cold
food compartment to the warm room
 A cooling system is a device that transfers
heat energy out of an object to lower its
temperature
 Air conditioners use a liquid
refrigerant to decrease temperature
and then transfer the warm air out
 Def: A refrigerant is a substance used
in cooling systems that transfers large
amounts of energy as it changes state
 Condensation transfers energy to the
surroundings
 Condensation uses a refrigerant as
part of the process of transferring heat
away