Internal Energy Flashcards

All 5 cards in this deck

What is internal energy?

The total kinetic energy and potential energy of all the particles (atoms and molecules) that make up a system.

Which energy store of a system increases when it is heated?

The internal (thermal) energy store — the energy of the particles that make up the system.

What two things can heating a system do to it?

Raise its temperature, or produce a change of state.

True or false? Heating a system always raises its temperature.

False. It may instead produce a change of state, with the temperature staying the same.

What happens to the particles of a substance when its temperature increases?

Their mean kinetic energy increases.