how are energy and temperature related​

Social Studies · Middle School · Mon Jan 18 2021

Answered on

Energy and temperature are closely related in the sense that temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance. When thermal energy is transferred to an object, its particles move faster on average, and thus the temperature of the object rises.

Here are the logical steps to understand how energy and temperature are related:

1. **Thermal Energy:** The total energy of all the particles in a substance is known as thermal energy. It is the sum of the kinetic energy (energy of motion) and potential energy (energy stored due to position) of the particles.

2. **Kinetic Energy and Temperature:** The kinetic energy part of thermal energy is directly related to temperature. An increase in the kinetic energy of particles, due to faster movement and more collisions between particles, will correspond to a rise in temperature.

3. **Heat Transfer:** When energy in the form of heat is transferred to an object, it's the motion of the particles that increases, and hence the average kinetic energy of the particles increases, leading to an increased temperature of that object.

4. **Temperature Scales:** Temperature is measured on scales like Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin. The Kelvin scale is directly proportional to the average kinetic energy of particles, with absolute zero (0 K) being the point where the motion of particles theoretically stops.

5. **Specific Heat Capacity:** It's also important to note that different substances require different amounts of energy to change their temperatures. This is due to a property called specific heat capacity, which is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius