What happens to thermal energy when an object's atoms move faster?

When an object's atoms move faster, the thermal energy of the object increases, which results in the warming of the object. Thermal energy is directly related to the kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules within a substance. As the temperature of an object rises, the speed of its atoms or molecules increases. This higher average kinetic energy reflects a greater amount of thermal energy.

As thermal energy increases, the object typically becomes warmer to the touch. This principle is evident in everyday experiences, such as feeling a metal spoon heat up when it is placed in hot soup; the accelerated movement of the spoon's atoms indicates an increase in thermal energy. Therefore, the correct understanding is that faster-moving atoms in an object correlate with an increase in thermal energy, which leads to warming.