heat vs thermal energy [ENDORSED]

$\Delta U=q+w$

Kellina Tran 2I
Posts: 50
Joined: Sat Jul 22, 2017 3:00 am

heat vs thermal energy

What’s the difference between being asked to calculate the amount of thermal energy versus the amount of heat required to raise a substance to a certain temperature?

Michelle Chernyak 1J
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 7:06 am

Re: heat vs thermal energy

Thermal energy is q while the heat required to raise a substance to a certain temperature is the specific heat capacity. Based off of this, the first is asking for q in q=mCdeltaT and the second is asking for the C.

Chem_Mod
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Re: heat vs thermal energy  [ENDORSED]

We usually use these terms interchangeably. However, the subtle difference has to do with heat being a transfer property. It has to be exchanged to be measured. Thermal energy is the energy available to a material as a function of its temperature. Heat can be exchanged without removing the total thermal energy of the system. Yes, "amount of heat required to raise a substance to a certain temperature" is the definition of heat capacity.

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