What term describes the sum of the kinetic and the potential energy of all the molecules in an object?

What term describes the sum of the kinetic and the potential energy of all the molecules in an object?

• A. Thermal Energy
• B. Temperature
• C. Wheel and Axle
• D. Screw

Answer: (A)

Thermal energy is the energy contained in a substance due to the motion and interactions of its molecules. Each molecule has kinetic energy from its random motion and potential energy from the forces between molecules. When you add up all those kinetic and potential energies for every molecule in the object, you get its thermal energy. Temperature is related to this idea but is a measure of the average kinetic energy per molecule, not the total energy. The other options don’t describe energy content: a wheel and axle and a screw are simple machines, not terms for energy stored in matter.

Thermal energy is the energy contained in a substance due to the motion and interactions of its molecules. Each molecule has kinetic energy from its random motion and potential energy from the forces between molecules. When you add up all those kinetic and potential energies for every molecule in the object, you get its thermal energy. Temperature is related to this idea but is a measure of the average kinetic energy per molecule, not the total energy.

The other options don’t describe energy content: a wheel and axle and a screw are simple machines, not terms for energy stored in matter.