What is wrong with the following statement? “Given any two objects, the one with the higher temperature contains more heat.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The statement “Given any two objects, the one with the higher temperature contains more heat” is incorrect because it confuses temperature with heat. These are related but fundamentally different concepts in thermodynamics.
Correct Answer:
The object with the higher temperature does not necessarily contain more heat. Heat is a form of energy transfer, while temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance. The total amount of heat an object can contain depends on its mass, specific heat capacity, and temperature, not just temperature alone.
Explanation:
To understand why the original statement is flawed, we must clearly distinguish between heat and temperature. Temperature is a measure of how hot or cold an object is, based on the average kinetic energy of its particles. Heat, on the other hand, is energy in transit that flows from one body to another due to a temperature difference. It is not something an object “contains” in a fixed amount like mass or volume.
Consider a small metal nail at 100°C and a bathtub full of water at 40°C. Although the nail has a higher temperature, the bathtub contains more heat energy overall. This is because water has a high specific heat capacity, and the bathtub holds a much greater mass of material. Therefore, the total thermal energy, or heat content, of the bathtub is much greater despite its lower temperature.
The amount of heat QQQ stored or transferred can be calculated using the formula:
Q=mcΔTQ = mc\Delta TQ=mcΔT
where:
- mmm is the mass,
- ccc is the specific heat capacity,
- ΔT\Delta TΔT is the change in temperature.
So, a large, cool object can hold more heat than a small, hot one. In summary, higher temperature does not mean more heat. The correct way to assess the heat content of an object includes considering mass and specific heat, not just temperature.
