Thermal Energy Review

Heat Transfer Review

by Shawn Berry

​Temperature vs Thermal Energy

​Thermal Energy is a measure of the TOTAL energy of the particles.

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​Temperature is a measure of the AVERAGE energy of the particles.

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​So, objects with larger masses have more thermal energy.

Multiple Choice

Which of the objects below has the MOST thermal energy?

• 750 g of soup heated to 210 degrees

• 10 g of molten, hot lava from a volcano

• A 135 kg snowman made of ice and snow

• 500 mL of boiling water

The snowman was the correct answer because it had the greatest mass​.

​It has the lowest temperature because the AVERAGE particle motion was lowest. It was the only option that was a solid.

Multiple Choice

Which object below has the LEAST thermal energy?

• 5 mL of room temperature water

• 1440 mL of boiling water

• 500 mL of cold water

• An ice cube made with 60 mL of water

​The correct answer was 5mL of room temperature water.

​Remember, the smaller the mass, the less total energy.

​Mass and Thermal Energy

​Think about lakes in the winter. Often, they can be surrounded by snow, but the lake doesn't freeze as quickly.

Open Ended

Which object has more thermal energy: a 1 qt pot of boiling soup or a hot tub with 200 gallons of water? How do you know?

​How does thermal energy move from one object to another?

​When thermal energy moves from one object to another, this is called heat. Thermal energy always moves from warmer objects to colder objects. Thermal energy transfer only happens when particles come into contact with one another.

Multiple Choice

Thermal energy is transferred when particles

• expand

• collide

• shrink

• change phase

Conductors

​Because particles need to come into contact, some materials are more efficient than others at transmitting thermal energy. Materials with particles that are tightly packed together are usually better conductors. This means that thermal energy will be transmitted through these objects quickly. Copy and paste this link to watch an experiment using different materials:

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​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnnadk7b3VY&ab_channel=HungrySciANNtist

Multiple Choice

Which spoon did the butter melt off first?

• plastic

• wood

• metal

• none

​Insulators

​Materials that do not have tightly packed particles are good at preventing thermal energy from transferring. These materials are called insulators. These can be solids, but they are less dense solids like wood, plastic, wool, and rubber. Air is also a good insulator.