Physical Science
Thermal Energy and Heat
Name ________________________________
Period ____
These are the concepts that you are to know or demonstrate. I have given you sample questions that
could appear on your test to answer. Use the space provided to answer the questions.
1.
2.
Understand the heating/cooling curve of substances
a.
For the following graph, properly label the where each state of matter exists and where the
melting and boiling points are on the graph.
b.
Explain why there is no change in tempertature when there is a change in phase.
c.
Does a cup of water boil at a different temperature than a large soup pot of water? Explain.
Understand the methods of heat transfer / Heat can only be transferred
between substances of different temperatures / Recognize the evidences that
indicate heat transfer / Know the difference between heat and temperature
a.
If you fill a cup with warm bathwater, will it contain more heat, less heat, or the same amount of
heat as the water remaining in the tub you just filled it from?
b.
What is the connection between heat and temperature?
c.
At night, a rock in the desert will cool off. How could radiation, convection, and conduction
explain how the rock gets colder?
d.
What substances make the best conductors, and what substances make the best insulators?
e.
Why does heat energy always move from a higher temperature to a lower temperature?
f.
Know the difference between each of the three ways that energy is transferred and examples of
each.
g.
Discuss the difference between wool and cotton socks in the experiment that we did in class.
h.
Does a melting ice cube warm its surroundings, cool its surroundings, or have no effect on its
surroundings? Why?
i.
Do cold objects contain heat energy? Explain.
j.
How does a thermos work?
3.
4.
5.
Understand the kinetic molecular theory
a.
Why do substances expand when heat energy is added to them?
b.
Why is a Concord supersonic jet 8 inches longer in flight than when it is parked on the ground?
c.
If you don’t stir a liquid or a gas, then they are not moving…True or False? Explain your
reasoning.
Understand the concepts that surround absolute zero
a.
What is absolute zero?
b.
What is the coldest possible temperature? What does this temperature mean?
Know how various heating & cooling appliances work
a.
6.
Be able to explain a heating or cooling system in terms of their transfer of usable energy.
Measure temperature using different scales
a.
What is the difference between a thermometer based on a bimetallic strip and a mercury
thermometer?
b.
Know the difference between each of the three temperature scales… Why are there 3 different
temperature scales in use today?
c.
How is temperature measured? (i.e. how do a thermometers work?)