Term | Definition |
energy | The ability to cause change. |
kinetic energy | The energy of an object that is due to the object's motion. |
potential energy | The energy that an object has because of the position, condition, or chemical composition of the object |
mechanical energy | The sum of an object's kinetic and potential energy due to gravity or elastic deformation; does not include chemical energy or nuclear energy |
energy transformation | the process of energy changing from one form to into another. |
law of energy conservation | the law that states that energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be changed from one form to another. |
kinetic theory of matter | a theory that states that all of the particles that make up matter are constantly in motion. |
temperature | a measure of hot or cold something is; specifically, a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object. |
thermal energy | the kinetic energy of a substance's atoms. |
degree | The units of a temperature scale. |
thermometer | an instrument for measuring and indicating temperature. |
position | The location of an object. |
reference point | a location to which another location is compared. |
motion | an object's change in position relative to a reference point. |
speed | The distance traveled divided by the time interval during which the motion occurred. |
vector | a quantity that has both size and direction. |
velocity | the speed of an object in a particular direction. |