Name ____________________________________________ Date _______________ Period ______________
Chapter 6: Thermal Energy Guided Reading
Read the indicated sections and answer the following questions. They are IN ORDER from the text.
Pages 158-163
1. Using Figure 2, why is increasing the temperature of an object increasing the thermal energy?
Increasing the temperature increases the kinetic energy of the particles.
2. How are heat and thermal energy related? Heat is thermal energy that flows from something with a
higher temperature to something with a lower temperature.
3. What is the specific heat of a material? The amount of heat that is needed to raise the temperature of
1Kg of water by 1ºC.
4. Write the Thermal Energy Equation and label the variables.
𝑸 = 𝒎𝒄∆𝑻
∆𝑻 = 𝑻𝒇 − 𝑻𝒊
Q = Energy (J)
m = mass (kg)
c = specific heat (J/kgK)
T= Temperature
Pages 164-170
5. List and explain the three types of energy transfer.
a. Conduction- transfer of thermal energy by collisions between particles in matter at a higher
temperature and particles in matter at a lower temperature.
b. Convection-transfer of thermal energy in a fluid by the movement of warmer and cooler fluid
from one place to another.
c. Radiation- transfer of energy through empty space (electromagnetic waves).
6. How are conduction and convection different? Conduction- heated particles collide with each other.
Convection- fluid particles move from one location to another and carry energy with them.
7. What are the two animal adaptations that control the flow of heat? Air is a good insulator. It reduces
the rate at which heat is transferred to the colder, outside air.
8. Why does trapped air make a material like fleece a good insulator? Any reasonable answer.
Pages 172-179
9. How does heat flow from a warm to a cool object satisfy the first law of thermodynamics? According to
the 1st law- the increase of thermal energy of a cool object equals the decrease of thermal energy of a
warm object.
10. Why can’t heat be converted completely into work? The 2nd law of thermodynamics prevents heat from
being converted completely to work.
11. How does a refrigerator do work on the coolant? Work is done when the compressor compresses the
vapor, causing the temperature to increase.