Ch.11 Physics.
Thermal energy transfers from a hotter place to a colder place (higher temperature to lower
temperature).
Thermal energy transfer requires a temperature difference.
Metal is a good conductor of thermal energy, and wood is a poor conductor of thermal energy.
When a finger touches a metal object, the thermal energy is conducted, from the finger into
the metal. Since metal is a good thermal conductor, the energy is transferred rapidly through
the metal, resulting in the finger getting colder than before.
Wood is a good thermal insulator. When a finger touches wood, no thermal energy is
conducted from the finger into the wood, and hence the finger remains warm.
Thermal Conduction: Transfer of thermal energy by the vibration of molecules.
What is a thermal conductor?
Ans – A substance that conducts thermal energy is known as a thermal conductor.
What is a thermal insulator?
Ans – A substance that conducts minimal thermal energy.
How does thermal conduction happen in a nonmetal?
Ans – If one end of the glass rod (non-metal) is heated, the other end remains cold at the start.
This causes temperature difference between the 2 ends and hence thermal energy flows from
the hot higher temperature to the low temperature.
At the hot end of the glass rod, the atoms vibrate more than the atoms at the cold end. As the
atoms vibrate, they collide with the neighboring atoms, resulting in sharing of energy to the
neighboring atoms.
Metal conductivity:
Metals conduct thermal energy well because metals have free electrons, which can easily
carry thermal energy when heated, making metals good conductors.
Electron: (-) charged particles, smaller than atoms.
In solid metal, the particles are tightly bound and hence they can easily vibrate and collide
with their neighboring particles to transfer the thermal energy.
In liquid, the particles are free to move, and hence vibrations are not easily passed on to other
particles.
In gases, the particles are spread out, hence passing vibrations is most difficult in gases,
which makes gas a poor conductor of thermal energy.
1) Solids, hotter, cooler, insulator, polystyrene.
2) Because the metal spoon is a good conductor of heat, when you touch it, it will be
very hot. A wooden spoon is a bad conductor of heat, and hence it will be safer to
touch and hold.
3) Because wood is a bad conductor of heat as compared to marble, so walking on wood
would feel colder.
4) Because a thin layer of air, gets trapped between the layers of the clothing. This air
gets warmed up by the thermal energy of the body, and hence act as an insulator.
5)
a) Copper is a solid metal, hence it contains more free electrons rather than the wood,
which contains fewer free electrons.
b) Because wood is a solid and can conduct electricity better than air, because wood
vibrates faster than air.
Convection
Main Energy transfer in fluids is known as convection.
Fire heats surrounding air particles
Particles gain energy in kinetic stores and move further apart
Cooler, denser gas replaces the warm particles.
Hot Liquid or gas – Makes less dense – Rise
Cold liquid or gas – makes denser – particles sink
Purple dye used to demonstrate convection: Potassium permanganate.
Infrared radiation is electromagnetic wave for thermal radiation
In terms of the rate of energy transfer, how does an object maintain a constant temperature?
Ans – An object maintains a constant temperature when the rate of energy transfer away from
the object is equal to the rate of energy transfer to the object.
Thermal radiation
What is thermal radiation?
All objects give off thermal radiation
o The hotter an object is, the more thermal radiation it emits
o Thermal radiation is infrared radiation (part of the electromagnetic spectrum)
Thermal radiation is the only way in which heat can travel through a vacuum
o It is the way in which heat reaches us from the Sun through the vacuum of space
o Thermal radiation does not need a medium to travel, unlike convection and
conduction
Heating & cooling by energy transfer
Extended tier only
If the rate at which an object receives energy is greater than the rate at which
it transfers energy away:
o then the object's temperature will increase
If the rate at which an object transfers energy away is greater than the rate at which
it receives energy:
o then the object's temperature will decrease
The process will always move towards thermal equilibrium
o As temperature increases, the object emits more radiation until the rates are equal
o As temperature decreases, the object transfers less energy until the rates are equal
