Question

Explain what happens to the average kinetic energy, thermal energy, and temperature of a substance when the particles in the substance slow down.

Answer 1

When particles in a substance slow down, we can infer that the object is getting colder. Why we can infer this:

1. Kinetic energy, is energy due to motion, therefore if there is no motion, there is no kinetic energy.  

2. The colder an object get, the closer it becomes to having it's particles stopping completely, eventually at the absolute zero.  

3. As kinetic energy increases, particles  move faster. Kinetic energy usually increases when an object gets warmer. As kinetic energy decreases, particles move slower. Kinetic energy usually decreases when an object gets colder.  

So, with this information, we now how and why the kinetic energy slows down.

Answer 2

Explanation:

The particles in a substance slow down when the average kinetic energy of the particles decreases. As the average kinetic energy decreases, the internal energy decreases, and so the thermal energy decreases. As the thermal energy of the substance decreases, the temperature decreases.