Thermal Energy & Energy Transformations Vocabulary

Specific Heat

the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a material by 1 kelvin, which is equivalent to 1°C

Heat

The transfer of thermal energy from a warmer object to a cooler object

Gas

A state of matter with no definite shape or volume

Liquid

A state of matter that has no definite shape, but has a definite volume

Solid

A state of matter that has a definite shape and a definite volume

Thermal Energy

The total kinetic and potential energy of all the particles of an object

Temperature

how hot or cold something is; the measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance

Conduction

The transfer of energy from one particle of matter to another within an object or between two objects that are in direct contact

Conductor

A material that conducts heat well; a material that allows electric charges to flow

Convection

The transfer of thermal energy by the movement of a fluid

Detect

to perceive or to notice

Insulator

A material that does not conduct heat well; a material that does not easily allow electric charges to flow

Law of conservation of energy

The rule that energy cannot be created or destroyed

Radiation

The transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves

Thermal equilibrium

The state of balance that occurs when objects with different temperatures come into contact and thermal energy slows between them

Thermal expansion

The expansion of matter when it is heated