What is thermal energy?A hot potato at 100 ºF is placed in a bowl of soup at 80 ºF. The surrounding room is at 65ºF. Which correctly describes the directions of thermal energy transfer?

1. Thermal Energy is the internal energy that is produced from the temperature of a heated substance/object.

2. From the potato to the soup and from the soup to the surrounding room

Explanation:

1. When an object or substance is heated it causes a rise in temperature which makes the atoms and molecules within the object move/vibrate faster and collide with each other. This kinetic energy energy comes from the temperature of the object being heated and is the thermal energy.

2. The atoms present in a hot object have higher kinetic energy when compared to a colder object and usually flow towards the colder object. This is why it is possible for the hot potato whose temperature is higher than the bowl of soup to flow towards the soup and from the soup to the surrounding room.