Internal Energy
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to define internal energy as the sum of kinetic and potential energies of particles
- Students will be able to explain how internal energy changes with temperature and phase
- Students will be able to apply conservation of energy to thermodynamic systems
Core Concepts
- kinetic_energy_particles
- potential_energy_particles
- total_internal_energy
- energy_conservation
- macroscopic_properties
Formulas
$$U = KE + PE$$
Total internal energy is sum of kinetic and potential energy of all particles
$$\Delta U = U_f - U_i$$
Change in internal energy
Units
| joule | J |
Interesting Fact
The internal energy of an ideal gas depends only on temperature, not on volume or pressure
Key Scientist
Julius von Mayer
Early developer of the concept of internal energy and conservation of energy
Modern Research
Thermodynamic calculations in chemistry and engineering depend critically on understanding internal energy changes during reactions and phase changes.
Want to truly master this? Try the interactive lesson!
Start Lesson