Temperature, particle motion, and how much the temperature changes
Grade 8 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.
The mug stands on a table. Ari's tea cools in a mug. By how many °C does it cool from minute 2 to minute 10?
The stove gives steady heat. A pot of soup warms on a stove. By how many °C does it warm from minute 3 to minute 9, Bo?
Read this first
Two cups of water (example data)
cup mass of water (g) temperature (°C) X 200 80 Y 200 40 Cup X and cup Y hold the same mass of water. Which statement does the table support, Kira?
- Cup X has faster particles on average, and with equal mass it also holds more thermal energy
- The cups hold equal thermal energy, since temperature and thermal energy are the same measure
- Cup X is at the higher temperature because it has more particles than cup Y, which makes it hotter
- Cup Y has faster particles on average, since cooler water gives its particles more room to move
A small cup and a large cup of water (example data)
cup mass of water (g) temperature (°C) Small 100 90 Large 1000 30 Luz compares two cups of water. Which statement does the table support?
- The large cup's particles move faster on average, since it holds more total thermal energy than the small cup
- The small cup's particles move faster on average, while the large cup holds more total thermal energy
- The small cup holds more thermal energy than the large cup, since it is at the higher temperature
- The two cups are at the same temperature, since 100 g at 90 °C balances 1000 g at 30 °C
A thermometer in a pot of water reads 20 °C, then 35 °C after heating. What changed in the water's particles, Milo?
- On average they move faster, but they keep the same size and the same number
- On average they kept the same speed, but they spread farther apart in the pot
- On average they grew larger, and larger particles show up as a higher temperature
- On average they moved the same speed, but more of them were moving than before
A hot drink cools from 80 °C to 40 °C. What happens to its particles, Noah?
- They shrink as the drink cools, so the drink holds less thermal energy than before
- Half of them stop moving, and the rest keep their original speed as the drink cools
- On average they move slower, and the drink holds less thermal energy than before
- They move faster but spread out into the room, so the drink holds less thermal energy
A sample sits in a freezer at −20 °C. Do its particles stop moving, Pia?
- Yes: below 0 °C particles stop, which is why water locks into a solid in a freezer
- No: they keep moving, only more slowly on average than they would at warmer temperatures
- No: they keep moving at the same speed as at 20 °C, because only the sample's state changes
- Yes: at −20 °C the particles are locked in place and have no motion left, so they stop
The same heater gives each beaker the same energy. Ren heats two beakers with the same amount of energy. Which one warms by more degrees, and why?
- The two beakers rise by equal amounts, since the heater gives each of them equal energy
- Beaker B, since a larger beaker traps the energy from the heater better than a smaller one
- Beaker A, since the same energy is shared among fewer particles
- Beaker B, since it holds more particles to take in the energy from the heater
Energy to warm 1 g by 1 °C (rounded values)
material energy (J) Water 4.2 Sand 0.84 Equal masses of sand and water get the same energy. Which warms by more degrees, Tala?
- The two warm equally, since equal masses are given equal energy by the same heater
- The sand warms more, since each gram of sand needs more energy to rise one degree
- The water warms more, since a liquid's particles move freely and pick up energy faster
- The sand warms more, since each gram of sand needs less energy to rise one degree
Two samples (rounded values)
sample material mass (g) energy to warm 1 g by 1 °C (J) P iron 50 0.45 Q water 200 4.2 Samples P and Q get the same energy. Which one warms by more degrees, Zee?
- Sample Q (water), since liquids heat up faster than solids because their particles slide past each other
- They warm by equal amounts, since the heater gave each sample the same amount of energy
- Sample Q (water), since it has more mass and so holds more particles to take in the energy
- Sample P (iron), since it has less mass and needs less energy per gram per degree