what is a measurement to measure the temperature of a substance
1 Temperature: A convenient operational definition of temperature is that it is a measure of the average translational kinetic energy associated with the disordered microscopic motion of atoms and molecules. 2  The flow of heat is from a high temperature region toward a lower temperature region. About Temperature Disponible en espanol. 2  Temperature, when measured in Kelvin degrees, is a number that is directly proportional to the average kinetic energy of the molecules in a substance. 3  So, when the molecules of a substance have a small average kinetic energy, then the temperature of the substance is low.