What does temperature measure in relation to heat?

Temperature measures the intensity of heat in an object, which refers to the average kinetic energy of the molecules within that object. It indicates how hot or cold an object is and provides an understanding of the degree of thermal energy present.

When temperature is high, it suggests that the molecules are moving faster and possess more energy, whereas a lower temperature indicates slower-moving molecules with less energy. This is a fundamental principle of thermodynamics, where temperature acts as a measure of thermal energy intensity rather than the total energy of the system or how heat transfers between objects.

While other options touch on related concepts—like heat loss, total molecular energy, or heat flow—they do not accurately reflect what temperature fundamentally represents in the context of heat.