Which stick of butter has less thermal energy?
the colder stick of butter the hotter stick of butter
Two sticks of butter are identical except for their temperatures.
Matter is made of tiny particles called atoms. Atoms are always moving.
The energy of moving atoms is called thermal energy. The total amount of thermal energy in matter depends on three things: the type of matter, the amount of matter, and how fast the atoms are moving.
Temperature measures how hot or cold matter is. If the atoms in matter slow down, the temperature goes down. The matter now has both less thermal energy and a lower temperature.
What happens if the amount of matter changes? A 2-kilogram brick at 70°F has twice as much thermal energy as a 1-kilogram brick at 70°F. The two bricks have the same temperature, but the larger brick has twice as many atoms. So, it has twice as much thermal energy.
The two sticks of butter are made of the same material and have the same mass. So, the colder stick of butter has less thermal energy.