Question

A) True or False: You must stir a liquid in order for the particles to move. Otherwise they are stationary.


B) What is the difference between thermal energy and temperature?

Answer 1

I think thermal energy is the rate at which molecules and atoms move. temperature is a measurement of the energy given off by the movement. i would write that thermal energy is dependant on the amount of substance, while temperature is not. that is probably the biggest difference.

Answer 2

thanks?

Answer 3

False - there is always thermal motion.

Temperature is the macroscopic parameter which is a measure of thermal energy, a microscopic parameter..
They are related in that the thermal kinetic energy is proportional to the temperature in kelvin.

Answer 4

oh i forgot to say false! sorry, yes there is always thermal motion

Answer 5

lol thanks

Answer 6

B) What is the difference between thermal energy and temperature?

Temperature is relative. It is just a means of defining the difference between two masses with different thermal energies. For instance , the mass of 50C water has more thermal energy than the mass of 20C water.

And even air has mass, so 25C air has more thermal energy than 2C air

Answer 7

I should add, temperature is a means of defining the difference between two of the same compound or element masses with different thermal energies.

Because two different compounds can have the same temperature but different thermal energies.

For instance 50C water has more thermal energy than 50C air, so you can say that temperature is like a coefficient of specific heat of a mass. In itself temperature means nothing, you need a mass for temperature to be present ( like in space, there is no mass, so you can't measure temperature)

Answer 8

"temperature is a means of defining the difference between two of the same compound or element masses with different thermal energies."

You have missed out the important word "mean" or "average" when referring to thermal energy.

Temperature tells you whether or not if you bring two bodies together they will be in thermal equilibrium ie there will be no net transfer of heat between the bodies.
So two bodies at the same temperature have atoms/molecules which have the same average thermal energy.

By definition there will be a net transfer of heat from a body at a higher temperature to a body at a lower temperature if the two bodies are in thermal contact.
On the molecular scale you can think of collision between the molecules of the two bodies resulting in kinetic energy being transferred from the molecules with the higher kinetic energy to those with a lower kinetic energy until a time when the net transfer of energy between all the molecukes is zero.