Technology

Q1 Relationship between the study of heat and the kinetic theory of matter
The kinetic theory of matter states that all matter is made up of a large number of particles packed together in proximity dependent on whether the matter is solid, liquid or gaseous but in all of these substances, the particles are in constant motion (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008). The random motion of these particles is directly proportional to the energy they possess (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008). In other words, the motion of a particle determines the kinetic energy it possesses.

Heat is a form of energy and the total amount of heat energy an object possesses is an aggregation of all the kinetic energy possessed by the individual particles (Hyperphysics, 2010). When the object is heated up, the particles gain more energy and therefore their random motion within the sample of mass increases (Hyperphysics, 2010). Upon further heating to a specific energy level depending on the material, the motion of the particles becomes sufficient enough to occasion a change in state. If, for example, a copper sample is heated continuously, the particles contained therein (copper atoms) increase their kinetic energy and subsequently their motion within the confines of the sample until the motion is sufficient enough for the sample to turn into the liquid state (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008).

The study of heat therefore serves to prove the kinetic theory of matter by proving the position maintained by this theory that particles have greater kinetic energy and therefore move faster at higher temperatures (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008). When a particle moving at a higher velocity collides with a particle moving at a lower velocity, the fast-moving particle transfers some of its energy to the other particle, which in return gains in velocity. This explains why if matter is heated from one end, the heat spreads gradually until it reaches the end furthest from the supply of heat (Hermans-Killam  Daou, 2010). It is transferred through particle collisions. If the heat is kept on, eventually all the particles will be randomly moving at the same velocity and the result will be either melting or vaporizing.

Q2 What is Heat
Heat is energy. It travels in waves like any other form of energy and requires a medium to travel (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008). This is because it is energy in motion and is transferred from particles in a medium when it gets into contact with them. The study of heat is therefore conducted to experimentally prove the particulate nature of matter and also the kinetic theory of matter (Hermans-Killam  Daou, 2010).

Heat is conducted through particles. When particles are heated, they gain energy, which is transformed to kinetic energy (Hermans-Killam,  Daou, 2010). These particles then gain velocity and increase the locus of their vibration. When particles moving at a higher velocity collide with slower particles (those possessing lower energy), some of the energy is transferred. These particles that have gained energy in turn collide with other particles, transferring some of their energy to them (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008). Through this process, heat energy is transferred though a medium. This process is called conduction.

Convection is another form of heat transfer in which heat is transferred through a fluid like a liquid or a gas medium (Hyperphysics, 2010). When matter is heated, it expands so when fluids are heated, they expand. A particular weight of fluid is therefore housed in a larger volume, leading to a decrease in density (mass per volume). The heated fluid then moves in currents, transferring some of its heat energy to colder sections it comes into contact with (Hyperphysics, 2010). Since heat also moves as a wave, it can be conducted from the source to a body through radiation.

Q3 What is Temperature
The motion of particles described above is random, meaning that particles in a sample of matter do not travel at the same speed (Hyperphysics, 2010). There is therefore a range of energy among the particles. Each particle contains an instantaneous amount of heat energy, but the temperature of a body is the average amount of heat or thermal energy of all the particles in the body, regardless of the volume of the body (Hyperphysics, 2010). For example, water boils at 100o Centigrade and maintains this temperature until all of it has vaporized, therefore a small volume of boiling water will have the same temperature as a much larger volume of boiling water. Temperature is therefore the average degree of hotness or coldness of a body (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008).

Q4 Relationship between heat and temperature and the difference between them
A body possessing more heat or thermal energy will have a higher temperature that a similar body (similar in physical structure and equal in volume) with a lower amount of heat.

Q5 While heat is the amount of thermal energy possessed by a body, its temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness. Low thermal energy in a body will make it have a low temperature.

Q6 Determinants of Specific Heat Capacity
Specific heat capacity is of a material is the amount of heat required to raise its temperature by 1 unit on the thermodynamic scale and is determined by the element or compounds molar mass, the presence of impurities the presence or absence of hydrogen bonds (Blauch, 2009).

Q7 Sources of Heat
Theoretically, energy, like matter, can never be created or destroyed (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008). Heat as a form of energy is released from energy existing in another form. Heat is therefore released from chemical reactions such as metabolism, nuclear activity (like the reactions that make the sun burn), burning of wood and mechanical friction (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008).