Topics · Primary Science · Energy: Heat & Temperature
Heat and temperature: two different things
Heat is energy that moves. Temperature is how hot something is. Papers separate the two deliberately, and using one word for the other is the most reliable way to lose a mark on this topic.
- 406 exam papers analysed
- appears in 99% of P6 Science papers
- ~3 min read
01 Heat moves; temperature is a measurement
Temperature is measured in degrees Celsius (°C) with a thermometer. It tells you how hot something is at one moment.
Heat is energy. It flows, and it always flows the same way: from the hotter object to the cooler one, never the other way, and it keeps going until both are at the same temperature.
So a cold drink does not “take in coldness”. Heat leaves the warm air and enters the drink. Cold is not a thing that moves — it is just less heat.
02 Gaining and losing heat
Whether something warms or cools depends only on what is around it.
- Warmer than its surroundings → it loses heat and cools down.
- Cooler than its surroundings → it gains heat and warms up.
- Same temperature as its surroundings → no net flow. It has reached equilibrium and stays there.
- Heat always flows from hot to cold. There is no exception, and any answer describing the reverse is wrong however it is phrased.
03 Conductors, insulators and how things feel
A good conductor lets heat pass quickly — metals. A poor conductor, or insulator, does not — plastic, wood, air, cloth.
This explains a question papers love: why does a metal spoon feel colder than a wooden one in the same room? Both are at the same temperature. The metal feels colder because it conducts heat away from your hand faster.
Feeling cold is about the speed of heat flow, not about temperature. Getting that sentence right is worth a mark on its own.
04 Expansion and contraction
Most things expand when heated and contract when cooled, because their particles move further apart. Nothing is created or destroyed — the same matter simply takes up more room.
This is why a thermometer works: the liquid inside expands up the tube when it warms.
It also explains gaps left in railway lines and bridges, and why a tight metal lid loosens under hot water — the metal expands more than the glass.
05 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. Capitals mark the syllable you lean on. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- heat
Energy that flows from a hotter object to a cooler one.
- temperaturesayTEM-pruh-chuh
How hot something is, measured in degrees Celsius with a thermometer.
- degrees Celsius, written °CsaySEL-see-uhs
The unit temperature is measured in.
- conductorsaykuhn-DUK-tuhmore than oneconductors
A material that lets heat pass through quickly. Metals are good conductors.
- insulatorsayIN-syuh-lay-tuhmore than oneinsulators
A material heat passes through slowly: plastic, wood, cloth, air.
- expandsayik-SPAND
To get bigger. Most things expand when heated.
- contractsaykuhn-TRAKT
To get smaller. Most things contract when cooled.
06 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P4
Measuring temperature, and the idea that heat flows from hot to cold.
Practise P4 Energy: Heat & Temperature — 10 questions →74% of P4 papers
- P5
Conductors and insulators, expansion and contraction, and why things feel hot or cold.
Practise P5 Energy: Heat & Temperature — 10 questions →88% of P5 papers
- P6
Heat flow in longer questions, and fair tests comparing insulating materials.
Practise P6 Energy: Heat & Temperature — 10 questions →99% of P6 papers
07 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“The cold went into the drink.”
Cold does not move. Heat left the warm surroundings and entered the drink — always describe it as heat flowing.
“The metal spoon is colder than the wooden one.”
Both are at room temperature. The metal feels colder because it conducts heat away from your hand faster.
“Heat and temperature are the same thing.”
Heat is energy that flows; temperature is a measurement of how hot something is. Papers mark the words separately.
“The water gained heat, so it gained 70 °C.”
70 °C is the final reading. The gain is the difference: 70 − 25 = 45 °C.
“Metal expands because heat adds material to it.”
Nothing is added. The particles move further apart, so the same metal takes up more space.
Now try it
30 questions across 3 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.