When the temperature of an object decreases, the average energy of its particles decreases. Since thermal energy is the total kinetic and potential energy of all these particles, the thermal energy of the object

decreases.

1 answer

Yes, that's correct! When the temperature of an object decreases, the average kinetic energy of its particles also decreases. Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance—higher temperatures correspond to higher average kinetic energies.

As the temperature falls, the particles move more slowly, leading to a reduction in their kinetic energy. This results in a decrease in the overall thermal energy of the object, since thermal energy is the sum of all the kinetic and potential energy of the particles within the object.

In summary, a decrease in temperature typically leads to a decrease in the average energy of the particles and, consequently, a decrease in the thermal energy of the object.