Law of Conservation of Energy:
● First law of thermodynamics
● States energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changes form, sum of initial energies
must equal sum of final energies
Energy: The ability to do work
Power: The rate at which energy is used/ work is done
Kinetic Energy:
● The mass increases linearly
● The speed increases exponentially
● Doubling speed= x4 kinetic energy, tripling speed= x9 kinetic energy (that’s why speed is
squared but mass is not)
Spring Potential Energy: Energy that can be released to return a stretched/compressed string
back to its state of equilibrium
Hooke’s Law:
● Can be used to calculate the force a spring exerts when it’s stretched/compressed
● There is a negative because the force and the direction the spring is stretched are
opposite
Work: Work is done when energy changes form
● W= Fd can only be used if the force is applied in the same direction as the motion and if
the force acting on the object causes a change in the object’s energy
● Negative work value= object is doing the work, positive work value= work was done on
the object
Force-Distance Graph:
● Work done/change in energy= area under the curve
Mechanical Energy:
● The sum of the potential energy (gravitational and spring) and the kinetic energy (these
are all the forms of energy associated with motion and creating motion)
Thermal Energy: The total potential and kinetic energies possessed by the particles of an
object (atoms, molecules)
● If two objects have the same mass and temperature, but they are made of two different
substances, they will likely contain different amounts of thermal energy
● Heat moves from warmer areas to cooler ones until the temperatures are equal
● There is no transfer of coldness- only an absence of heat
, ● The kinetic molecular theory states that as particles of matter gain kinetic energy, they
move faster and the temperature of the substance increases and vice versa
Heat: Thermal energy in transfer (between two materials of different temperatures)
Temperature: A measure of thermal energy (average kinetic energy of the particles in a
substance)
● Three commonly used scales:
○ Celsius Scale: Based on the boiling and freezing points of water
○ Fahrenheit Scale: Based on the boiling and freezing points of brine
○ Kelvin Scale: Developed using ‘absolute zero’ as the point at which there is
virtually no motion in the particles of a substance (0 K = -273 ℃)
● Conversion Equations: Celsius = Kelvin - 273, Kelvin = Celsius + 273
Vacuum: A volume empty of matter (no heat due to the absence of atoms resulting in no atomic
vibrations)
● A thermos keeps food warm by imitating a vacuum but a true vacuum has not yet been
created due to its extreme difficulty
Methods of Transferring Thermal Energy:
● Conduction: Heat transfer due to contact (fast-moving particles of a warmer material
collide with the slower-moving particles of a colder materia which causes the
slower-moving particles of the colder object to speed up and the faster-moving particles
of the warmer object to slow down)
● Convection: Heat transfer through the movement of a liquid (colder, denser fluid falls
and pushes up warmer, less dense fluid), creates convection current (rotating motion)
● Radiation: Heat transfer through electromagnetic waves emitted from sources such as
lamps, flames, the sun etc. (all particles that have kinetic energy emit some radiant
energy)
Specific Heat Capacity: The amount of energy required to increase the temperature of 1 kg of
a substance by 1 °C.
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller studynoteswiz. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $8.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.