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Answers to Readers' Questions on Physical Science:

Thermal Energy

The following 6 comments and questions have been sent in. They are listed according to date.

List of first 10 items

• Is a flame thermal energy?
• Would like to join our school
• Which has more thermal energy: a lake or steam?
• I need to do a simple project on themal energy
• Does thermal energy depend on number of molecules?
• Material is really hard

Next 10

Is a flame thermal energy?

Question

March 25, 2008

Would a flame from a candle be an example of thermal energy?

Cindy - USA

15591

Answer

A flame consists of very hot gases. The total energy of the flame is its thermal energy.

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Would like to join our school

Question

March 17, 2008

hi school of champions, i am charles a student in a college in kenya and i would like to join your school. i am doing a course in diploma in analytical chemistry and i have been doing my reseach throw your website. please help me throw.

charles - Kenya

15553

Answer

Our lessons are meant to help students understand the subjects while they are studying them in school. You do not need to join our school to take the free lessons, but we would like you to pay back by helping others around you to also learn.

Analytical Chemistry is a difficult course, so we wish you best wishes in your studies.

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Which has more thermal energy: a lake or steam?

Question

February 27, 2008

Which has more thermal energy? A lake or steam? My book says that the lake does but that doesn't make sense because particles in steam have more kinetic energy than particles in the lake.

- USA

15444

Answer

Thermal energy defines the energy content of an object. A lake would have more thermal energy, because of its great mass. Temperature is the average kinetic energy. Although steam is much hotter, there is not much matter in steam, so its total energy or thermal energy would be less.

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I need to do a simple project on themal energy

Question

February 23, 2008

I need to do a simple project on themal energy. I was wondering if you could recommend one. I know of the one with a balloon over a bottle placed in hot water and it expands and than placed in cold water and it deflates.I was wondering if there was some sort of project that can show how thermal energy is useful in our day to day life that I could have on display at our science fair display day at our school.
Thank You for your help.

Lisa - USA

15419

Answer

One experiment is to show the difference in insulating materials. The object is to simulate the effect of sunlight in a house and how different things affect the inside temperature.

Get a clear plastic box and cover one side with black paper, another side with a piece of cloth and the third side with something like bubble wrap. Then put a thermometer inside. Start at room temperature and place the top on the box.

Then put a light bulb on the clear window side for a certain length of time and then take the temperature inside the box. This is like the sun coming in the window.

Next start at room temperature with the light by the black paper. See what the inside temp is after the same amount of time.

The cloth could represent drapes in the house. The bubble wrap or Styrofoam could be an insulated wall.

I hope that gives you an idea of a project. Best wishes and let me know what you do and how it works out.

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Does thermal energy depend on number of molecules?

Question

October 29, 2007

Hi. I was just wondering if thermal energy partly depends on how the particles are arranged and the number of particles in a substance.
Thanks!

- USA

14668

Answer

The thermal energy of a material consist of the total kinetic energy (KE) of all its molecules. If a material is more compressed or has a greater number of molecules, the total KE will be higher than a material with less molecules.

In a gas or liquid, the molecules are pretty much able to move around freely. but in a solid--especially a crystal-type material--the atoms and molecules are held in some sort of structure or arrangement. They sort of vibrate in place. This has an effect on the thermal energy of the material.

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Material is really hard

Question

March 22, 2007

its me again this website is really really really really really really hard i dont get how to find my answers to my question neither can my friends but otherwise its good yeah REALLY HARD

jeniffer - USA

13415

Answer

Thermal energy is a difficult subject to understand. If you follow the link at the bottom to go to Heat, you can get a better idea about the subject. It is hard to learn everything about a subject just from one lesson, because they tie into each other.

What did you find was hard to understand? Or was it a problem getting answer to your teacher's questions?

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