What are molecules?
A group of atoms joined together in a specific way
When something gets colder, what happens to its molecules?
Its molecules slow down and have less kinetic energy
When 2 things with different temperature are in contact, what happens to their molecules?
Kinetic energy transfers from the faster-moving molecules to the slower-moving molecules
When will the molecules of a system stop transferring energy?
They stop transferring energy when at a stable state known as equilibrium where all the molecules are moving at the same speed.
When something gains or loses energy, what happens to the energy?
The energy gained or lost is divided among all the molecules of the thing, so it will be harder to change the temperature of a large thing since it has many molecules.
What happens to the molecules in an object when it gets hotter?
Its molecules are moving faster and have more kinetic energy
What is temperature?
The measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules of a thing
What happens to the energy of one part of a system and the other part? Does the total energy of the system change?
Energy isn’t created or destroyed. Therefore, as energy transfers, it increases in one part of the system as it decreases in another part of the system. The total energy of the system does not change
If there are 2 objects with different sizes but have the same temperature, which one has more total kinetic energy?
For things at the same temperature, the thing with more molecules (or the larger thing) has more total kinetic energy (thermal energy) than the thing with fewer molecules.
How do you find the average kinetic energy of a system when it’s at equilibrium?
At equilibrium, the average kinetic energy (temperature) of the molecules in the system is the total kinetic energy (thermal energy) evenly divided by the number of molecules in the system.
