Science Review: Energy, Heat Transfer, and Scientific Inquiry

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering forms of energy, heat transfer mechanisms, energy efficiency, and scientific inquiry concepts from the lecture review notes.

Energy

The ability to cause objects to change, move, or do work.

Law of Conservation of Energy

The principle stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be transformed or transferred.

Energy Transfer

The process that occurs when energy moves from one object or thing to another without changing its form.

Energy Transformation

The process that occurs when energy changes from one form into another form.

Potential Energy

Stored energy, which includes chemical, elastic, gravitational, nuclear, and static electrical energy.

Kinetic Energy

The energy of motion, which includes electric current, light, motion, sound, and thermal energy.

Heat

The movement of thermal energy from a hotter substance or object to a colder one.

Temperature

A measurement of the average energy per molecule of a substance.

Thermal Energy

Energy that is due to the motion of atoms and molecules within a substance.

Conductors

Materials that transfer heat easily.

Insulators

Materials that block or impede the movement of heat.

Energy Efficiency

The ratio of useful energy to required energy of a process or system, calculated as $\text{Efficiency} = \left(\frac{\text{Useful Energy}}{\text{Required Energy}}\right) \times 100\%$.

Conduction

The direct transfer of heat energy through collisions between neighbouring vibrating particles, occurring primarily in solids and to a lesser extent in liquids and gases.

Convection

The transfer of heat energy by particles changing position rather than just vibrating, occurring mostly in fluids such as liquids and gases.

Radiation

The transfer of heat energy without particles via infrared waves, which can move through a vacuum between hot and cold regions.

Fluids

Substances that flow, specifically liquids and gases, through which heat is primarily transferred by convection.

LED Bulbs

Light-emitting diode light bulbs that produce a more blue-tinted light and represent the most energy-efficient lighting option.

Incandescent Bulbs

Light bulbs that give off an orange-tinted light and are less energy-efficient due to releasing a significant portion of energy as thermal energy instead of light.

Scientific Law

A statement that describes what occurs or identifies patterns and relationships in natural phenomena, rather than explaining why those events occur.

Empirical Evidence

Scientific data and observational evidence that provide a reliable foundation for decisions and regulations, as opposed to opinions or beliefs.