New
New
Year 7
Energy and temperature
I can describe the difference between the temperature and the energy of an object or substance.
New
New
Year 7
Energy and temperature
I can describe the difference between the temperature and the energy of an object or substance.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- The directions in which particles in a substance move are random. This is true of solids, liquids and gases.
- The higher the temperature, the faster the particles vibrate in a solid or move past each other in a liquid or gas.
- Energy needs to be transferred to an object to raise its temperature.
- For two identical objects, the one at a higher temperature has more energy.
- 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
Energy and temperature are the same thing.
Warm different amounts of water in identical kettles for the same time to show they reach different temperatures for the same energy transferred.
Sourcing two (or more) identical kettles speeds up demonstration times and allows direct comparisons of warming for different times and/or amounts of water.
Teacher tip
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
What property do objects have if they have energy in the gravitational store?
they are moving
they are stretched
they contain chemicals that can react
Q2.
What property do objects have if they have energy in the chemical store?
they are moving
they are squashed
they have a temperature
Q3.
Compare the energy in the thermal store of an ice cube and the equivalent volume of water at room temperature. Which statements are correct?
The ice cube has more energy in the thermal store than the water.
They both have the same amount of energy in their thermal store.
The ice cube has zero energy in the thermal store.
Q4.
Which of these cause the energy in the chemical store to increase?
burning a candle
a person walking upstairs
Q5.
What happens to the particles a gas is made of when it is heated to a higher temperature?
they move around less quickly
they vibrate less quickly
they vibrate more quickly
Q6.
What happens to the particles a solid is made of when it is cooled down to a lower temperature?
they vibrate backwards and forwards less quickly
they vibrate backwards and forwards more quickly
they vibrate in random directions more quickly
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
In which state(s) of matter do particles move around in random directions?
solid state
Q2.
What happens to particles of a gas if you decrease their temperature?
they get heavier
they get smaller
Q3.
Put the following in order of how much energy they have in the thermal store, starting with the least energy.
Q4.
What happens to the energy a hot water bottle has in the thermal store as it cools down throughout the night?
it is slowly used up
it evaporates
Q5.
Which of these samples of water has the most energy in the thermal store?
one teaspoon of water taken from a small cup of hot water at 75°C
one teaspoon of water taken from a full kettle of water at 75°C
two teaspoons of water taken from a bath full of water at 45°C
Q6.
Which of these samples of water has the most energy in the thermal store?
a teaspoon of water at 75°C
a cup of water at 70°C
a kettle of water at 90°C
a bath of water at 40°C