GCSE Physics (OCR B)

Topic Summaries

States of matter and heat capacity

Internal energy

  • The internal energy of a system is the total kinetic and potential energy of the particles in the system.
  • Internal energy represents the energy stored in a system.
  • Heating a system will increase its internal energy in one of two ways:
    • The kinetic energy of the particles increases, causing them to move or vibrate faster. This raises the temperature of the system.
    • The potential energy increases due to a change of state. The substance will change from a solid to a liquid or from a liquid to a gas.

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