internal energy and energy transfers

• Internal energy is the energy stored in a system by the atoms and molecules that make up that system
• The particles inside a liquid or gas are in the constant motion, colliding with each other and the walls of any container they are in
• In a solid the particles are vibrating around a fixed point
• When heat is added to a system the internal energy of the particles increase. This can result in the material changing state
• The temperature increase of an object depends on what it is made of, the mass of an object and the amount of energy put into it
• Latent heat is the energy needed to change the state of an substance without a temperature changed. The energy supplied is used to change the internal energy store of the substance
• Molecules in a gas are in constant random motion (Brownian motion)
• When a fixed mass of gas is compressed, the volume decreases