Topic-7.

Thermal Energy Page | 1

7. Thermal Energy
What is Thermal Expansion?

• When (most) materials are heated, they expand.

• This expansion happens because the molecules start to move around (or vibrate) faster, which
causes them to knock into each other and push each other apart.

When a solid is heated, the molecules vibrate more, pushing each other apart

Note: When this happens, it is the space taken up by the molecules that increases. The molecules
themselves remain the same size.

Extended Only
Thermal Expansion in Solids, Liquids & Gases

• When solids, liquids and gases are heated:

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 2

Question

Answer

Applications & Consequences

• The thermal expansion of materials can have some useful applications, but also has some
undesirable consequences.

• Applications:
•
o The expansion of a liquid in a thermometer can be used to measure temperature.
o A bimetallic strip, consisting of two metals that expand at different rates, can be made to
bend at a given temperature, forming a temperature-activated switch.

The bimetallic strip will bend upwards when heated, closing the circuit

• Consequences:
o The expansion of solid materials can cause them to buckle if they get too hot.
o This could include:
 Metal railway tracks.
 Road surfaces.
 Bridges.
o Things that are prone to buckling in this way often have gaps built into them, providing
some room for them to expand into.

Question

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 3

Measuring Temperature

• When a substance is heated, some of its physical properties can change.

• These properties include things such as:
o The volume (and density) of the substance.
o The electrical resistance of the substance.
• If these properties change in a well-defined way, by measuring the property you can determine
the temperature.

• In order to build a thermometer based on one of these properties, you need to start by measuring
the property at some well-defined fixed points.
• A fixed point is a temperature at which some easily identifiable change occurs, such as the melting
of ice (at 0 °c) or the boiling of pure water (at 100 °c).

Ice melts and water boils at well-defined temperatures (fixed points) which may be used to calibrate
thermometers

• These fixed points allow you to know the temperature without having to measure it directly.
• Usually two fixed points are used:
o The lower fixed point: the melting temperature of ice.
o The upper fixed point: the boiling temperature of pure water.
• Once a property (such as electrical resistance) has been measured at these two fixed points, the
values of that property at other temperatures can be worked out.

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 4

Measuring some property at two fixed points allows you to then work out the temperature for other
values of that property

Sensitivity, Range & Linearity

• The above description has made a big assumption about the way in which the property changes
with temperature: That it does so at a steady rate.
• Properties that change in this way are said to be linear, and linearity is a very useful property for
something to have as it makes it easy to work out the relationship between that thing and the
temperature.

• Other important properties when designing a device such as a thermometer include:

o Sensitivity – if the thing you are measuring changes significantly when the temperature
changes, it makes it easier to detect small changes in temperature: Your thermometer is
more sensitive.
o Range – What are the lowest and highest temperatures the thermometer can measure? If
a liquid-thermometer is too short, there may not be enough room for the liquid to expand
into.

Question

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 5

Liquid Thermometers

• A liquid-in-glass thermometer consists of a thin glass capillary tube containing a liquid that
expands with temperature.
• At one end of the tube is a glass bulb, containing a larger volume of the liquid which expands
when heated, moving into the narrower tube.
• A scale along the side of the tube allows the temperature to be measured based on the length of
liquid within the tube.

As the bulb is heated, the liquid expands and moves along the capillary tube

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 6

The Sensitivity of Liquid Thermometers

• The liquids used in liquid-in-glass thermometers are chosen for their thermal expansion
properties:
o They expand linearly with temperature.
o They expand significantly, giving them greater sensitivity.
o They have low freezing points and high boiling points, allowing them to be used over a
greater range of temperatures.
• The use of a large glass bulb coupled to a very narrow tube also results in greater sensitivity, as a
small change in volume results in the liquid moving a significant distance along the tube.

Thermocouples

• A thermocouple consists of two different types of wire attached together.

• When the joint between the two wires is heated, a potential difference (voltage) is created
between the two wires.
• The greater the temperature, the greater the potential difference.

A thermocouple consists of two dissimilar wires connected together

• Thermocouples are not as sensitive as liquid-in-glass thermometers, but because the metals have
high melting points, they can be used to measure very high temperatures.
• Thermocouples are also very responsive to rapidly changing temperatures.

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 7

Question

Temperature & Heat

Internal Energy

• When a substance is heated, its internal energy (sometimes referred to as thermal energy or
heat) increases.
• As a substance’s internal energy increases, so will its temperature.
The higher the temperature of a substance, the more internal energy it possesses.

As the temperature of a substance is increased, the total energy of the molecules (the internal energy)
increases

Internal Energy & Molecules

• The molecules within a substance possess two forms of energy:

o Kinetic energy (due to their random motion/vibration).
o Potential energy (due to the bonds between the molecules).
• Together, these two forms of energy make up the internal (thermal) energy of the substance.
• When a substance is heated, that heat will usually cause the kinetic energy of the molecules to
increase.
The temperature of the material is related to the average kinetic energy of the molecules.

Question

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 8

Thermal Capacity
What is Thermal Capacity?

• The thermal capacity of an object is the amount of heat energy required to raise the
temperature of that object by 1 °c.
• The greater the thermal capacity of an object, the more heat energy it takes to raise its
temperature.
• The thermal capacity is also equal to the amount of heat energy an object will give out when it
cools by 1 °c.

• The energy, E, required to raise the temperature of an object by an amount T is given by the
equation:

E = thermal capacity × T
Thermal Capacity & Specific Heat Capacity

• The thermal capacity of an object is related to the specific heat capacity by the equation:

(where c is the specific heat capacity of the material the object is made from, and m is the object’s mass.)

Question

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 9

Specific Heat Capacity

What is Specific Heat Capacity?

• The specific heat capacity of a substance is the amount of thermal energy required to raise the
temperature of 1kg of that substance by 1 °C.
• Specific heat capacity has units of joules per kilogram per degree Celsius (J/kg °C).
(Note: Different substances have different specific heat capacities)

• From the definition of specific heat capacity, it follows that if you have more than 1 kg of a
material, you will need more thermal energy.
Likewise, if you want to raise its temperature by more than 1 °C, you will also need to add more
thermal energy.
• The amount of thermal energy needed is given by the equation:

• Note that in the above equation:

o ΔE is used to mean the change in internal energy
o C is used to mean the specific heat capacity of the substance
o ΔT is used to mean the change in temperature.

(The symbol Δ in maths is used to denote a change in value.)

Question

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 10

Measuring Specific Heat Capacity

• In your IGCSE examination you may be asked to describe an experiment to determine the specific
heat capacity of a substance.
A method for carrying out such an experiment is given below.

• In this experiment you need to use the following equation to determine the specific heat capacity
of the substance:

• The following apparatus will be needed:

o A block of the substance (preferably 1kg in mass) or in the case of a fluid, a beaker
containing a known mass of the fluid.
o A thermometer.
o An appropriate heater (e.g. an immersion heater).
o A power source.
o A joule meter or a voltmeter, ammeter and stopclock (I will assume we have the latter).

Apparatus to determine the specific heat capacity of a 1kg aluminium block

• Start by assembling the apparatus and measure the initial temperature of the substance.

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 11

• Turn on the power supply and start the stop-clock.

• Whilst the power supply is on take several periodic measurements of the voltage and current, and
calculate an average of these values.
• After 5 minutes (300 seconds) switch off the power supply, stop the stop-clock and leave the
apparatus for a few more minutes.
• Monitor the thermometer and make a note of the highest temperature reached.
• Calculate the rise in temperature.
• The heat supplied to the substance can be calculated using the equation:

energy = current × voltage × time

(Note: The time must be in seconds)

• These values, along with the mass of the substance, can now be substituted into the top equation
to find the specific heat capacity of the substance.

• The biggest problem with the above experiment is that not all of the heat supplied by the heater
will go into the substance – some will go into the surroundings and the substance will also lose
heat whilst it is being heated.
• This means that the value for the heat added will be too great which means that the calculated
specific heat capacity will also be too great.

Question

Melting & Boiling

Changing State

• A change of state refers to a substance changing its state between solid, liquid or gas.

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 12

The various changes of state between solids, liquids and gases

• Usually, when a substance is heated its temperature increases.

• However, whilst a substance changes its state (from solid to liquid or from liquid to gas) the
temperature of that material remains constant, even though energy is still being added.

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 13

When a substance changes state, its temperature remains constant, even though it is still gaining (or
losing) internal energy

• This happens because the energy is being used to break the bonds between the molecules instead
of increasing the kinetic energy of the molecules (and hence the temperature).

• When a substance turns from gas to liquid (condensation) or from liquid to solid (solidification)
the opposite happens:
o The temperature remains constant whilst the bonds reform (giving out energy in the
process).

• The melting point and boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which that substance
changes state.

Question

Answer

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 14

Boiling vs Evaporation

• Boiling and Evaporation both refer to a change in state from liquid to gas, however:
o Boiling occurs at a fixed temperature and happens throughout the liquid.
o Evaporation can occur at any temperature and happens from the surface of the liquid.

Evaporation occurs when higher energy molecules near the surface of a liquid escape and become a
gas. This can occur at any temperature

Latent Heat

• Latent Heat is the energy required to change the state of a substance.

• This energy is required to break the bonds holding molecules together
(It is also given out again once the bonds reform).
o Latent Heat of Fusion is the energy required to turn a solid into a liquid.
o Latent Heat of Vaporisation is the energy required to turn a liquid into a gas.

• The Specific Latent Heat, L, of a substance is the energy required to change the state of 1 kg of
that substance.
• For an object of mass m, the total energy required to change its state is given by the equation:

Energy = m × L

Question

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic-7. Thermal Energy Page | 15

Measuring Specific Latent Heat

• In your IGCSE examination you may be asked to describe an experiment to determine the specific
latent heats for steam or ice.
A method for determining the specific latent heat for steam is given below.

• In this experiment you need to use the following equation:

• The following apparatus will be needed:

o A vacuum flask containing pure water
o A top pan balance
o An appropriate heater (e.g. an immersion heater).
o A power source.
o A joule meter or a voltmeter, ammeter and stop-clock (I will assume we have the latter).

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site

Topic- Page | 16

Image showing apparatus to measure the specific latent heat for steam

• Start by measuring (and recording) the mass of the vacuum flask along with the water.
• Next place the heater into the water and connect it to the power supply.
• Turn on the power supply and wait until the water starts to boil.

• Once the water is boiling start the stop-clock and take several measurements of the potential
difference (on the voltmeter) and current (on the ammeter), and calculate an average of these
values.
• After 5 minutes (300 seconds) switch off the power supply and stop the stop-clock.
• Now measure the mass of the vacuum flask and water once more, and calculate how much the
mass has decreased by. This will give the mass of water that has changed state (which you will use
in determining your result).
• The heat supplied to the material can be calculated using the equation:

energy = current × voltage × time

• These values, along with the change in mass, can now be substituted into the top equation to find
the specific latent heat for steam.

• A similar experiment can be carried out for ice (in a beaker this time), but the ice must be
measured separately from the beaker otherwise you’ll be measuring the mass of the water as
well.
• It is also important to ensure that the temperature of the ice is 0 °c at the start of the
experiment. This will be the case if the ice has started to melt.

IGCSE Physics 0625 Revision Notes www. Hakim Abbas site