▪ T E M P E R AT U R E 1 4 .

T E M P E R AT U R E
& THERMAL
EQUILIBRIUM

▪ T E M P E R AT U R E
SCALES

▪ S P E C I F I C H E AT
C A PAC I T Y &
SPECIFIC
L AT E N T H E AT
 T E M P E R AT U R E
Definition: Property of an object that determines which way heat
will flow between it and another object.

▪ It is the measure of how "hot" or "cold" for an object.

▪ It is not energy nor heat.
▪ It is the measure of motion (vibration or translation) of the atom/molecules that
make-up an object.
▪ High amplitude of vibration : high T
▪ Small amplitude of vibration : low T
T E M P E R AT U R E ( C O N T. )
1. To understand the concept of temperature, we need to think about materials in
terms of the particles from which they are made.
2. According to kinetic theory, when energy is supplied to an object, the particles in
that object take up the energy as kinetic energy, and move faster.
3. It is kinetic energy that determines the temperature.
4. If average KE of the molecules of a substance increases, then it is at a higher
temperature.
 H E AT & T E M P E R AT U R E
• Temperature → degree of hotness of a body.
• Heat → energy transferred from one body to another due
to thermal contact when the systems are at different
temperatures.
→Cannot be measured with a thermometer, like temperature. Heat must be
calculated.
 THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM
Thermal energy is defined as the energy possessed by an
object due to its temperature. Thermal energy is
transferred from a region of higher temperature to a
region of lower temperature.
• The energy will continue to be transferred until both the
thermometer and the water are at the same temperature
• This means temperature tells us the direction of energy
flow when two regions are in contact (from hotter to
cooler).
• The mechanism by which the thermal energy is transferred
is by either conduction, convection or radiation
 THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM
Thermal equilibrium is defined as: When two substances in physical contact with each other no
longer exchange any heat energy and both reach an equal temperature

• Thermal energy is always transferred from a hotter

region to lower region.
• There is no longer thermal energy transfer between
the regions.
• The two regions need to be in contact for this to
occur.
• The hotter region will cool down and the cooler
region will heat up until they reach the same
temperature.
• The final temperature when two regions are in
thermal equilibrium depends on the initial
temperature difference between them.
3 . T E M P E R AT U R E S C A L E : T H E R M O M E T E R
• A thermometer is any device that is used to measure
temperature
• Each type of thermometer uses a physical property of
a material that varies with temperature - examples of
such properties include:
1. The density of a liquid
2. The volume of a gas at constant pressure
3. Resistance of a metal
4. e.m.f. of a thermocouple
• In each case, the thermometer must be calibrated at
two or more known temperatures (commonly the
boiling and melting points of water, 0oC and 100oC
respectively) and the scale divided into equal divisions.
 1. THE DENSITY OF A LIQUID
• A liquid-in-glass thermometer depends
on the density change of a liquid
(commonly mercury)
• It consists of a thin glass capillary tube
containing a liquid that expands with
temperature
• A scale along the side of the tube
allows the temperature to be
measured based on the length of liquid
within the tube

As the bulb is heated, the liquid expands and moves along the
capillary tube
 2 . V O L U M E O F A G A S AT C O N S TA N T P R E S S U R E

• The volume of an ideal gas is directly

proportional to its temperature when at
constant pressure (Charles’s law)
V∝T
• As the temperature of the gas increases,
its volume increases and vice versa
• A gas thermometer must be calibrated -
by knowing the temperature of the gas at
a certain volume, a temperature scale can
be determined depending on how quickly
the gas expands with temperature
 3 . R E S I S TA N C E O F A M E TA L
▪ Recall that electrical resistance changes with temperature e.g.
the resistance of a filament lamp increases when current
increases through it
▪ For metals: resistance increases with temperature at a
steady rate
▪ For thermistors: resistance changes rapidly over a
narrow range of temperatures
▪ As a thermistor gets hotter, its resistance decreases
▪ This means a thermometer based on a thermistor can be used
to measure a range of temperatures
▪ The relationship between the resistance and temperature is
non-linear As the temperature of a thermistor
▪ This means the graph of temperature against resistance increases, its resistance decreases
will be a curved line and the thermistor will have to be
calibrated
 4 . E . M . F. O F A T H E R M O C O U P L E
▪ A thermocouple is an electrical device used as the sensor of a thermometer
▪ It consists of two wires of different, or dissimilar, metals attached to each other, producing a junction on one
end
▪ The opposite ends are connected to a voltmeter
▪ When this junction is heated, an e.m.f. is produced between the two wires which is measured on the voltmeter
▪ The greater the difference in temperature between the wires, the greater the e.m.f.
▪ However, a thermocouple requires calibration since the e.m.f. does not vary linearly with temperature
▪ The graph against e.m.f. and temperature is a positive, curved line.

A thermocouple consists of two dissimilar wires connected together The e.m.f. and temperature are not directly proportional in a thermocouple
T H E R M O M E T E R S : T Y P E & P RO P E RT I E S
Thermometer Property that varies Advantage Disadvantage

Liquid-in-glass Liquid’s density change, causing the Easy to use, Fragile, limited range
length of the liquid change portable

Thermocouple • e.m.f across two junction of two Fast response, Need voltmeter
different metal wires in contact wide range,
with each other remote
• if the two junctions are at readings
different T, emf will be produced
between two free ends
T H E R M O M E T E R S : T Y P E & P RO P E RT I E S
Thermometer Property that varies Advantage Disadvantage

Resistance Resistance, R of a thermistor Wide range, accurate, Slow response

measures small change
accurately

Gas Pressure of an ideal gas at Wide range, accurate Bulky, slow response
constant volume
 T H E R M O DY N A M I C S S C A L E ( K )
• As an everyday scale of temperature, Celsius (oC) is the most familiar
• This scale is based on the properties of water - the freezing point of water was taken
as taken as 0 oC and the boiling point as 100 oC
• However, there is nothing special about these two temperatures
• The freezing and boiling point of water will actually change as its pressure changes
• The Celsius scale is used to measure the temperature in a liquid-in-glass thermometer
• However, the expansion of the liquid might be non-linear
• Other temperature scales include:
• Fahrenheit, commonly used in the US
• Kelvin, used in thermodynamics
• The thermodynamic scale is said to be an absolute scale that is not defined in terms of
a property of any particular substance
• This is because thermodynamic temperatures do not depend on the property of any
particular substance
 A B S O L U T E Z E RO
• On the thermodynamic (Kelvin) temperature scale,
absolute zero is defined as:
The lowest temperature possible. Equal to 0 K or -
273.15 °C
• It is not possible to have a temperature lower than 0 K
• This means a temperature in Kelvin will never be a
negative value
• Absolute zero is defined in kinetic terms as:
The temperature at which the atoms and molecules in
all substances have zero kinetic and potential energy
• This means for a system at 0 K, it is not possible to
remove any more energy from it
• Even in space, the temperature is roughly 2.7 K, just above
absolute zero.
 Steam point

Ice point

Absolute zero
0 K: lowest
possible
temperature

Thermodynamics scale Celcius scale

T E M P E R AT U R E S C A L E S
 USING THE
K E LV I N
SCALE
• To convert between temperatures θ
in the Celsius scale, and T in the
Kelvin scale, use the following
conversion:

• The divisions on both scales are

equal. This means:
➢ A change in a temperature of 1 K
is equal to a change in
temperature of 1 oC
 S P E C I F I C H E AT C A P A C I T Y
• The specific heat capacity of a substance is defined as:
The amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1 °C
• This quantity determines the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of a substance
• The specific heat capacity is measured in units of Joules per kilogram per Kelvin ( J kg-1 K-1) or Joules
per kilogram per Celsius ( J kg-1 °C-1) and has the symbol c
• Different substances have different specific heat capacities
• Specific heat capacity is mainly used in liquids and solids
• The amount of thermal energy Q needed to raise the temperature by Δθ for a mass m with specific heat
capacity c is equal to:

From the definition of specific heat capacity:

• The heavier the material, the more thermal energy that will be required to raise its temperature
• The larger the change in temperature, the higher the thermal energy will be required to achieve this change
 SPECIFIC
H E AT
C A PAC I T Y
▪ If a substance has a low
specific heat capacity, it heats
up and cools down quickly
▪ If a substance has a high
specific heat capacity, it heats
up and cools down slowly
▪ The specific heat capacity of
different substances
determines how useful they
would be for a specific
purpose eg. choosing the best
material for kitchen appliances
 SPECIFIC
H E AT
C A PAC I T I E S
O F C E RTA I N
S U B S TA N C E
 H E AT I N G I C E / S O L I D

Section AB
1. Ice starts below 0º C (melting
point).
2. Molecules gain energy & vibrate
with higher amplitude.
3. EK increases.
4. There is very little change in mean
separation between molecules
(slight increase in EP)
 H E AT I N G I C E / S O L I D
Section BC
1. Ice melts at 0º C (at melting point).
2. Continue heating does not cause any
further increase in temperature until all
solid (ice) melt.
3. The heat causes a phase change from
solid to liquid (latent heat of fusion).
4. Latent heat increases separation of the
molecules (increase EP).
5. Enables the molecules to overcome the
force which hold them together.
6. The molecules become more
disordered.
7. EK same as T constant.
 H E AT I N G I C E / S O L I D

Section CD
1. The ice become water.
2. T rises towards the 100º
C (boiling point).
3. Heat energy supplied
increase EK & EP.
 H E AT I N G I C E / S O L I D

Section DE
1. Water is boiling.
2. Molecules completely separated from
one another.
3. Vaporization occurs throughout the body
of the liquid.
4. No further increase in T.
5. Transition from liquid to vapor (steam) at
constant T (latent heat of vaporisation).
6. Use of latent heat vaporisation:
7. Increase EP by increasing distance
between the molecules.
8. Do work by pushing the molecules in the
atmosphere away as it expand.
 H E AT I N G I C E / S O L I D ( S U M M A RY )

At change of
state: In between
1. There must be change of state:
input energy 1. Input energy
2. T does not raises T
change 2. Molecules
3. Molecules move faster
break free 3. EK increases
4. EP increase
 EXAMPLE 1
Suppose you throw caution to the wind and eat too much ice cream and cake on the
order of 500 Calories (kcal). To compensate, you want to do an equivalent amount of
work climbing stairs or a mountain. How much total height must you climb? For this
calculation, take your mass to be about 60 kg.
 EXAMPLE 2
When 26400 J of energy is supplied to a 2.0 kg block of aluminium, its
temperature rises from 20º C to 35º C. The block is well insulated so that
there is no energy loss to the surroundings. Determine the specific heat
capacity of aluminium.
EXAMPLE 3
An insulated copper calorimeter of mass 0.127 kg contains 0.170 kg of water at an initial
temperature of 20.0º C. A stone of mass 0.050 kg suspended on a thread is transferred
from boiling water at 100º C to the water, causing the temperature of the water
increases to 31.5º C. Calculate
a. the heat energy gained by the water and the calorimeter
b. the specific heat capacity of the stone.

Specific heat capacities: copper 390 J kg-1 K-1, water 4200 J kg-1 K-1
E X E RC I S E 1
1. A well insulated 1.2 kg block of iron is heated using 50 W heater for 4.0 min. The
temperature of the block rises from 22º C to 45º C . Find the experimental value
for the specific heat capacity of iron.

2. The amount of heat needed to increase the temperature of a piece of marble from
27 º C to 37 º C is 2.64 kJ. The mass of the marble is 0.30 kg. What is the specific
heat capacity of the marble?
E X E RC I S E 1
1. An iron spoon of mass 500 g is heated from 20º C to 100º C . How much heat is
absorbed by the iron spoon? The specific heat capacity of iron is 452 J kg-1 ºC-1.

2. An electric shower is capable of heating water from 10º C to 40º C when the flow
rate is 0.025 kg s-1. Calculate the minimum power of the heater. The specific heat
capacity of water = 4200 J kg-1 K-1
S P E C I F I C L AT E N T H E AT, L
1. Energy (latent heat) is required for a material to change phase, even though its
temperature is not changing.
Definition: specific latent heat of a substance is the energy required per unit mass
of the substance to change its state without any change in temperature.

2. When substance
• Melts: specific latent heat of fusion, Lf
• Boil: specific latent heat of vaporisation, Lv

3. Amount of energy required to melt or vaporize a mass of a substance:

𝑄 = 𝑚𝐿 Unit : J kg-1
 S P E C I F I C H E AT

Specific latent heat, L

Specific latent heat of fusion, Lf Specific latent heat of
vaporisation, Lv

energy required per unit mass of energy required per unit mass of
the substance to change state the substance to change state
from solid to liquid without from liquid to vapor without
any change in temperature. any change in temperature.
Summer 2007
 EXAMPLE 4

• The specific latent heat of vaporization of water is 2.26 MJ kg-1.

Calculate the energy needed to change 2.0 g of water into steam at
100º C .
E X E RC I S E 3

1. The specific latent heat of fusion of water is 330 kJ kg-1. Calculate the energy
needed to change 2.0 g of ice into water at 0º C.

2. Calculate the energy needed to melt 5.0 kg of ice at 0º C and heat the melted ice to
50º C .
specific latent heat of ice = 3.36 x 105 J kg-1
specific heat capacity of water = 4 200 J kg-1 K-1
Summer 2005
SPECIFIC
H E AT