Temperature and heat are related, but they’re not the same thing. When a substance or object is exposed to heat, its molecules begin to move faster. The movement of the molecules creates kinetic energy. Temperature is the average kinetic energy created by the molecules. In other words, it measures how fast the molecules are moving on average. Heat measures the total kinetic energy in the substance or object. With heat, size matters: a very large object will usually have more heat than a small object. For example, the ocean contains more heat than a pot of boiling water. Ocean water has a lower temperature than boiling water, but the ocean is so much larger than the pot of water. The ocean contains many more moving molecules than the pot of water, giving it more total heat energy.

Question

Why does the ocean contain more heat energy than a pot of boiling water?

A

because the ocean has many more molecules than a pot of water

B

because ocean water has a higher temperature than boiling water

C

because the salt in the ocean causes ocean water to hold on to more heat

D

because molecules of ocean water moves more slowly than those of boiling water

Answer 1

A. because the ocean has many more molecules than a pot of water