Middle School
Kinetic Energy & Temperature
Temperature is not "hotness." It is the average speed of the particles inside something. Slide the heat up and watch particles rip, drop food coloring into hot and cold water, count particle punches on a balloon wall, and peek inside a real thermometer.
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. If something is moving, it has kinetic energy. If it is sitting still, it has zero. Faster motion means more kinetic energy.
Here is the part most people never learn: everything is made of tiny particles, and those particles are always moving too. That hidden particle motion is what the rest of this lesson is about.
Quick check: which of these have kinetic energy?
A skateboard rolling down the driveway
A bike parked in the garage
A basketball flying toward the hoop
A book sitting on your desk