10.2 Temperature and Heat
nThermal energy
nDefinition: energy due to chaotic molecular motions
nThree factors affecting thermal
energy
¨Temperature –
Definition: a measure of the random motion of the components (atoms/molecules)
of a substance
nHigher temperature leads to
higher thermal energy
¨Sample size
nA cup of hot coffee has more
energy than a teaspoon of coffee, all other things being equal.
¨Composition
nE (solid) < E (liquid) < E
(gas), all other things being equal