What is the main distinction between temperature and heat energy?

The main distinction between temperature and heat energy lies in understanding what each term refers to in the context of thermal physics. Temperature is a measure of how hot or cold an object is and is expressed in units such as degrees Celsius (°C) or Kelvin (K). It indicates the average kinetic energy of the particles within a substance.

Heat energy, on the other hand, refers to the total energy that is transferred between substances or systems due to a temperature difference. This energy transfer is what we often perceive as heat. Heat energy is measured in joules (J), reflecting the total energy contained in a given mass of an object.

The chosen answer highlights a real-world scenario where a sparkler, which burns at a high temperature, can have a higher temperature than a bath of water while actually containing less heat energy overall. This is because the bath, despite its lower temperature, has a larger mass and can store more heat energy, thus allowing it to give off more heat than the sparkler. This illustrates clearly how temperature and heat energy are defined and quantified differently, clarifying their distinctions.