Heat and Temperature

What is Heat?
Heat is a transfer of (thermal)
energy between objects or places
due to temperature difference.
In what direction does heat move?
Heat moves from a substance of
higher temperature to a substance
of lower temperature.
Heat transfers from an object of
higher temperature to an object of
lower temperature.
Heat transfer happens around
us all the time. Although we
do not see how this process
actually takes place, its
effects are evident. In fact, we
rely on these effects everyday
in many of the activities that
we do. Understanding the
concepts behind heat transfer
therefore helps us do our
activities more efficient.
We learned that heat
transfer takes place
between objects or
places of different
temperatures, and
that heat transfers
from an object of
higher temperature
to an object of lower
temperature.
And we learned that heat
can be transferred
through conduction,
convection or radiation,
and that heat transfers
either through moving
particles or
electromagnetic waves.
We also learned about
some factors that affect
heat transfer, like
Conduction is when heat flows
through a heated solid.
Convection is when heated
particles transfer heat to
another substance, such as
cooking something in boiling
water.
Radiation is when heat is
transferred through
electromagnetic waves, such as
from the sun. Radiation can
transfer heat through empty
space, while the other two
We will learn:
- more about heat
transfer by exploring its
effects on materials.
- about the factors that
affect the amount of
heat that an objet can
absorb or release and
describe how these are
related to the amount of
At the end of this Module you are
expected to answer the
following:
- What happens to solids,
liquids, or gases when they
absorb or release heat?
- Does heat affect all kinds of
materials in the same way?
- Are heat and temperature
one and the same?
The first activity deals with one
of the major effects of heat
transfer, which is temperature
change.
You will describe the hotness and
the coldness of an object in
terms of its temperature.
You will also compare the
changes in the temperature of
water to determine the
relationship between the
amount of heat transferred and
the resulting temperature
change.
Heat transfer may continuously take
place between the cold water and the
surrounding (as long as there is a
temperature difference). So there will
be a possibility that the values of the
initial temperature of the water inside
the three containers will vary even if the
cold water was taken from the same
source.
You have just observed that if heat is
absorbed or given off by an object, its
temperature changes. If the object
absorbs heat its temperature rises.
How do we explain the rise in temperature
when heat is absorbed?
In the next activity, we will take a closer look
at what is actually happening at the particle
level and infer what happens to the particles
of an object when heat is added to it.
The aim of this activity is to explain why the
temperature of water in Activity 1 increases
when heat was added to it. Also, by
observing the behavior of the dye through the
water, we will be able to describe the
changes that occur due to heat transfer at
the particle level.
The change in the kinetic energy of the
particles of a substance varies with the
amount of heat transferred to it. The
greater the amount of heat transferred,
the greater the increase in the kinetic
energy of the particles. In the case of the
dye, the particles of the dye added to the
container with hot water move faster due
to the greater amount of energy
transferred to them from the hot water.
This makes the dye scatter faster
throughout the medium (water).
We learned that moving objects possesses kinetic
energy. All the objects that you see around you
that are moving possesses kinetic energy. But
do you know that even the very small things that
you cannot see, like the particles of objects, are
also moving and have kinetic energy? Take for
example the water inside the containers in
Activity 2. The scattering of the dye through the
water indicates that the particles of water are
moving.
We also noticed that the rate of scattering of the
dye throughout the water differs in each
container.
 Summary
If heat is added to an object, the particles of
the object gain kinetic energy and they
move faster. Since temperature is directly
related to kinetic energy, any gain in
kinetic energy would cause the
temperature to increase. Conversely, if
heat is transferred or removed from an
object, it loses kinetic energy, its particles
move slower and the body’s temperature
decreases.