Key learning points

1. The directions in which particles in a substance move are random. This is true of solids, liquids and gases.
2. The higher the temperature, the faster the particles vibrate in a solid or move past each other in a liquid or gas.
3. Energy needs to be transferred to an object to raise its temperature.
4. For two identical objects, the one at a higher temperature has more energy.
5. For two objects made of the same substance at the same temperature, the one with more particles has more energy.

Keywords

• Random - something that happens or is chosen without any specific pattern, reason, or plan, like whether a coin flip will land heads up or tails up

• Temperature - a measure of how hot something is

• Thermal energy store - the energy a substance stores because of the random motion of its particles

Common misconception