Key points
- Heat, \text qqstart text, q, end text, is thermal energy transferred from a hotter system to a cooler system that are in contact.
- Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules in the system.
- The zeroth law of thermodynamics says that no heat is transferred between two objects in thermal equilibrium; therefore, they are the same temperature.
- We can calculate the heat released or absorbed using the specific heat capacity \text CCstart text, C, end text, the mass of the substance \text mmstart text, m, end text, and the change in temperature \Delta \text TΔTdelta, start text, T, end text in the equation:
\text q = \text {m} \times \text C \times \Delta \text Tq=m×C×ΔT