What is kinetic energy?

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kevin
Kinetic energy is energy that an object has because of its motion. The Kinetic Molecular. The theory explains the forces between molecules and the energy that they possess.
1. Middle School Praxis – Kinetic Theory 1
Black Hills State University
Middle School Science Content Knowledge
Praxis Review Sheet:
Kinetic Theories and States of Matter
ELED 303 Earth and Physical Science
for Elementary Teachers
Kinetic Theory and States of Matter
Kinetic Molecular Theory
Kinetic energy is energy that an object has because of its motion. The Kinetic Molecular
Theory explains the forces between molecules and the energy that they possess. This theory is based
on three theories about matter.
• Matter is composed of small particles (atoms, molecules, and ions).
• The space the molecules occupy (volume) depends on the space between the molecules and not the
space the molecules occupy themselves.
• The molecules are in constant motion. This motion is different for each of the three states of
matter. They are colliding with each other and the walls of their container. When the molecules
collide with each other, or with the walls of a container, there is no significant loss of energy.
Absolute zero is the temperature used to describe when all movement is as slow as it can possibly
be.
Temperature is the term used to explain how hot or cold an object is. Temperature is the
average kinetic energy of particles in the substance. Water molecules at 0º C. lave lower kinetic energy
than water at 100º C.
States of Matter
Solid - Molecules are held close Liquid - Molecules will flow or Gas - Molecules are in
to each other by their attractions glide over one another, but stay continual straight-line motion.
of charge. They will bend toward the bottom of the The kinetic energy of the
and/or vibrate, but will stay in container. Motion is a bit more molecule is greater than the
close proximity. The molecules random than that of a solid. attractive force between them,
have an ordered arrangement. They have enough kinetic thus they are much farther apart
energy to slip out of the ordered and move freely of each other.
arrangement of a solid.
Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of
Education through South Dakota’s EveryTeacher Teacher Quality Enhancement grant.
2. Middle School Praxis – Kinetic Theory 2
Mass, Volume, and Density
Mass is the measure of the heaviness of a substance, usually is weighed in grams. The
characteristics of atoms in the material determine the mass. The more tightly packed they are, the
greater the mass; and the larger the atomic number, or the atomic mass, the greater the mass of the
substance. Hydrogen, number 2 on the periodic chart, has an atomic mass of 4, because it has 2 protons
and 2 neutrons in its nucleus. Gold has an atomic mass of 197, so each atom is much heavier. Mass is
often referred to as weight. To distinguish between mass and weight, think of a lump of gold both here
and on the moon. It would have the same mass in both places, but would weigh less on the moon
because its gravity is about 1/6 of Earth’s.
The volume of a substance is the three-dimensional space it occupies. It is measured in cubic
centimeters or millimeters. One cubic centimeter equals 1 millimeter. When scientists set up the metric
system, they set those quantities up that way to make science easier.
Density is the ratio of mass to volume. To determine the density of a substance, divide its mass
by its volume. Water has a density of about 1, and objects that sink in water, such as steel, have a
higher density. In contrast, steel’s density is about 8.
Phase Changes or Changes of State
The process of changing state requires that energy by absorbed or released. It is usually
measured in calories. One calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of
water 1 degree C.
Water
The range of temperatures found on Earth’s surface and the physical properties of water allow water to
occur commonly and in abundance in all three phases: solid, liquid, and gas. Phase changes usually
refer to the changes of state of water on Earth.
Processes to Change the State of Water
• Evaporation is the process in which a liquid is changed to gas. Water can change from liquid to
vapor only when energy is available. Evaporation requires energy, usually in the form of heat in the
atmosphere. When you take energy from an object, it gets cooler. The heat energy went into the
water molecules and caused them to speed up and evaporate. When water evaporates from a
surface, the amount of water vapor in the air increases.
• Condensation occurs when water changes from gas to liquid by condensation. The water molecules
release their stored heat energy and form fog or clouds.
• Melting occurs when a solid is changed to a liquid
• Freezing occurs when a liquid is changed to a solid
• Sublimation occurs when a solid is changed directly to a gas (e.g., ice cubes shrinking in a freezer)
• Deposition occurs when water vapor (gas) changed to a solid (e.g., frost in a freezer compartment)
Gas Laws
Gas molecules move so quickly and are so far apart that they overcome the attractive forces
between them; therefore, they don’t have a definite shape or volume. The simplest gas laws relate
pressure, volume, and temperature in pairs. Pressure is force exerted per unit area. In a fluid, either a
liquid or a gas, the pressure applied to a fluid is transmitted throughout the fluid. If you squeeze on one
end of a balloon, the other end will bulge out. Volume is a measure of the space the gas occupies.
Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of
Education through South Dakota’s EveryTeacher Teacher Quality Enhancement grant.
3. Middle School Praxis – Kinetic Theory 3
Boyle’s Law
Boyle’s law (named after Robert Boyle and his work in 1662) states that the pressure and
volume of a gas are inversely proportional to one another, or PV = k, where P is pressure, V is volume,
and k is a constant of proportionality. In other words, if you squeeze gas into a smaller space, the
pressure will increase, and the molecules will strike the surface of the container more often. If you
increase the volume of the container, the pressure will decrease, and the molecules will strike the
surface less often.
Charles’s Law
Charles’s law (published by Jacques Charles in 1787), states that the volume of an enclosed gas
is directly proportional to its temperature, or V = kT. This expression is strictly true only if the
temperature is measured on an absolute scale. The volume of a gas increases with increasing
temperature, as long as the pressure doesn’t change. The volume of a gas decreases with decreasing
temperature, as long as the pressure doesn’t change.
When the molecules in a gas are heated, they travel faster and separate as the temperature rises.
This is called thermal expansion, which describes the increase in the size of a substance as the
temperature increases.
The Pressure-Temperature Relationship
A third law states that the pressure is directly proportional to the absolute temperature, or P =
The Ideal Gas Law
The three gas laws relating two variables can be combined into a single law relating pressure,
temperature, and volume, which states that the product of pressure and volume is directly proportional
to the absolute temperature, or PV = kT. This law describes the behavior of real gases only with a
certain range of values for the variables. At temperatures or pressures near those at which the gas
condenses to a liquid, the behavior departs from this equation. Nevertheless, it is useful to consider an
ideal gas, or perfect gas, an imaginary substance that conforms to this equation for all values of the
Characteristics of Crystals
Crystals are substances in which the atoms are arranged in an orderly, repetitive manner. They
can be liquid or solid.
The silicate minerals, those containing oxygen and silicon atoms, form crystalline structures.
All have a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron as a base, with four oxygen atoms attaching themselves to a
much smaller silicon atom. The tetrahedrons can appear singly, in chains, in double chains, in sheets,
and in three-dimensional networks.
Silicate Mineral Tetrahedron Base
Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of
Education through South Dakota’s EveryTeacher Teacher Quality Enhancement grant.
4. Middle School Praxis – Kinetic Theory 4
- Taken from http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/GEODEPT/hollocher/pedagogy/K-
12_labs/Labs/RF1/RF1.htm
When water freezes into ice, the water molecules stack together to form a regular crystalline
lattice with six-fold symmetry. This hexagonal crystal symmetry determines the shape of snow
crystals. Faces, or facets, appear on many growing crystals because some surfaces grow more slowly
than others do.
Snow flake Ice lattice
- Taken from http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/
Liquid crystals do not change states in the usual manner. Liquid crystals start to flow during the
melting phase similar to a liquid, but don’t lose their orderly arrangement. They retain the arrangement
in specific directions. They are highly responsive to temperature changes and electric fields. Because
of these properties, they are used in making liquid crystal displays in numerous electronic apparatus,
such as clocks and computers.
Websites
http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/matterstates2.htm/ - changes of state of matter
Resources
Tarbuck, E. J. & Lutgens, F. K. (2006). Earth Science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
ISBN Number 0-13-149751-0.
Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of
Education through South Dakota’s EveryTeacher Teacher Quality Enhancement grant.