Chemistry / Unit 4 Chem 0672 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Internal Energy and the First Law of Thermodynamics
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The idea
A system's internal energy changes by the heat it absorbs or releases plus the work done on or by it.
In practice
A metal wire warms both when dropped in hot water, which adds heat, and when bent back and forth, which adds work.
Where people slip
Heat and work are two separate routes to the same internal-energy change, not rival or mutually exclusive explanations.
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