Background: No doubt you already have a good idea of what temperature is. You might say that it’s how warm or cool something feels. In physics, temperature is defined as the average kinetic energy of the particles of matter. When particles of matter move more quickly, they have more kinetic energy, so their temperature is higher. With a higher temperature, matter feels warmer. When particles move more slowly, they have less kinetic energy on average, so their temperature is lower. With a lower temperature, matter feels cooler.

Situation: Matt is reheating some leftover pizza in the microwave for his stepchildren, Lauren and Emily. Lauren likes her pizza at a high temperature when reheated so Matt cooks it for a long time. Emily likes her pizza at a lower temperature so Matt only puts hers in the microwave for a couple seconds.

Question: Which child's pizza will feel warmer?
Answer: Lauren

Situation: Matt is reheating some leftover pizza in the microwave for his stepchildren, Lauren and Emily. Lauren likes her pizza at a high temperature when reheated so Matt cooks it for a long time. Emily likes her pizza at a lower temperature so Matt only puts hers in the microwave for a couple seconds.

Question: Which child's pizza will feel colder?
Answer: Emily

Situation: Matt is reheating some leftover pizza in the microwave for his stepchildren, Lauren and Emily. Lauren likes her pizza at a high temperature when reheated so Matt cooks it for a long time. Emily likes her pizza at a lower temperature so Matt only puts hers in the microwave for a couple seconds.

Question: Does Emily's pizza have more or less kinetic energy than Lauren's?
Answer: less

Situation: Matt is reheating some leftover pizza in the microwave for his stepchildren, Lauren and Emily. Lauren likes her pizza at a high temperature when reheated so Matt cooks it for a long time. Emily likes her pizza at a lower temperature so Matt only puts hers in the microwave for a couple seconds.

Question: Does Lauren's pizza have more or less kinetic energy than Emily's?
Answer: more

Situation: Matt is reheating some leftover pizza in the microwave for his stepchildren, Lauren and Emily. Lauren likes her pizza at a high temperature when reheated so Matt cooks it for a long time. Emily likes her pizza at a lower temperature so Matt only puts hers in the microwave for a couple seconds.

Question: Are the particles in Lauren's pizza moving faster or slower than in Emily's pizza?
Answer: faster

Situation: Matt is reheating some leftover pizza in the microwave for his stepchildren, Lauren and Emily. Lauren likes her pizza at a high temperature when reheated so Matt cooks it for a long time. Emily likes her pizza at a lower temperature so Matt only puts hers in the microwave for a couple seconds.

Question: Are the particles in Emily's pizza moving faster or slower than in Lauren's pizza?
Answer: slower

Situation: Sarah just finished reheating two leftover chicken sandwiches in the microwave that she had made the previous night. She takes them out and leaves them on the kitchen counter while she pours herself a glass of wine. Her roommate, Carla, comes out and decides to take a more scientific approach toward the chicken sandwiches. Carla sees that the average kinetic energy in sandwich A is higher than the average kinetic energy in sandwich B. Carla then takes a big bite out of both sandwiches and returns to her room as if nothing happened.

Question: Which sandwich more likely burned Carla's mouth?
Answer: sandwich A

Situation: Sarah just finished reheating two leftover chicken sandwiches in the microwave that she had made the previous night. She takes them out and leaves them on the kitchen counter while she pours herself a glass of wine. Her roommate, Carla, comes out and decides to take a more scientific approach toward the chicken sandwiches. Carla sees that the average kinetic energy in sandwich A is higher than the average kinetic energy in sandwich B. Carla then takes a big bite out of both sandwiches and returns to her room as if nothing happened.

Question: Which sandwich less likely burned Carla's mouth?
Answer: sandwich B

Situation: Sarah just finished reheating two leftover chicken sandwiches in the microwave that she had made the previous night. She takes them out and leaves them on the kitchen counter while she pours herself a glass of wine. Her roommate, Carla, comes out and decides to take a more scientific approach toward the chicken sandwiches. Carla sees that the average kinetic energy in sandwich A is higher than the average kinetic energy in sandwich B. Carla then takes a big bite out of both sandwiches and returns to her room as if nothing happened.

Question: Which sandwich was in the microwave for a longer period of time?
Answer: sandwich A

Situation: Sarah just finished reheating two leftover chicken sandwiches in the microwave that she had made the previous night. She takes them out and leaves them on the kitchen counter while she pours herself a glass of wine. Her roommate, Carla, comes out and decides to take a more scientific approach toward the chicken sandwiches. Carla sees that the average kinetic energy in sandwich A is higher than the average kinetic energy in sandwich B. Carla then takes a big bite out of both sandwiches and returns to her room as if nothing happened.

Question: Which sandwich was in the microwave for a shorter period of time?
Answer: sandwich B