7.3Physics 01. Forces And Energy

Describe the difference between heat and temperature — Cambridge Checkpoint Science 0893 Revision Notes & Topical Questions

5 min read 9 parts Lesson 4 of 12 1 quiz

📚 Cambridge Checkpoint Science 0893 Hub / Topical Revision

0%read

Lesson summary

7.3 Heat and temperature — CHECKPOINT - Lower Secondary Science 0893 notes: Describe the difference between heat and temperature in terms of particle energy.Heat — the total thermal energy of all the vibrating particles in an object.It is measured in joules.Particle energy — when…

Depends on
Direction of transfer
Comparing objects
Same temperature, different volume
Same volume, different temperature
Higher temperature, less heat

Section 1 of 9Heat

Heat

Heat the total thermal energy of all the vibrating particles in an object.
It is measured in joules.

Particle energy

Particle energy when thermal energy increases, the particles vibrate faster and have more energy.

Depends on

Depends on the number of particles and how fast they move.

Section 2 of 9Temperature

Temperature

Temperature the average energy of the particles in an object.
It is measured in degrees Celsius.

Direction of transfer

Direction of transfer temperature tells us in which direction thermal energy will transfer, from hotter to colder.

Comparing objects

Comparing objects temperature is a good way to compare particle energy in objects of different size or material.

Section 3 of 9Difference between heat and temperature

Feature	Heat	Temperature
Meaning	Total energy of all the particles	Average energy of the particles
Unit	Joule (J)	Degrees Celsius
Depends on amount	Yes, more particles give more heat	No
Tells us	How much thermal energy there is	Which way thermal energy will move

Section 4 of 9Comparing amounts of water

Comparing amounts of water

Same temperature, different volume

Same temperature, different volume a larger volume has more particles so it has more heat.
A swimming pool at 25 degrees Celsius has more heat than a glass of water at 25 degrees Celsius.

Same volume, different temperature

Same volume, different temperature the hotter water has faster moving particles so it has more heat.

Higher temperature, less heat

Higher temperature, less heat a hotter small object can have less heat than a cooler larger object.

Section 5 of 9Temperature difference

Thermal energy transfer

Thermal energy transfer it goes from the higher temperature to the lower temperature.

Rate of transfer

Rate of transfer the larger the temperature difference, the faster the transfer.

Example

Example ice cream at -18 degrees Celsius in a room at 24 degrees Celsius gains thermal energy from the air.

Section 6 of 9Sparkler spark

A spark from a sparkler is about 1000 degrees Celsius but has very few particles, so its heat is very small.
- The large temperature difference with the air makes it cool rapidly.

Section 7 of 9Absolute zero

Lowest temperature

Lowest temperature as temperature falls particles move more slowly.

Absolute zero

-273 degrees Celsius, the lowest possible temperature, predicted by Kelvin.

Section 8 of 9Key terms

Term	Meaning
Heat	Total thermal energy of the particles in an object.
Temperature	Average energy of the particles in an object.
Thermal energy	Energy of the vibrating or moving particles.
Temperature difference	The difference in temperature between two places.
Absolute zero	The lowest possible temperature, -273 degrees Celsius.

Section 9 of 9Exam technique

Heat and temperature are the same — heat is total energy and temperature is average energy.

A hotter object always has more heat — a larger cooler object can have more.

Temperature is measured in joules — heat is measured in joules.

Cold is a type of energy — cold means there is less thermal energy.

Last updated: 12 October 2026