Thermal energy is KINETIC because the higher the temperatures the particles move faster. The faster the particles move the more kinetic energy.
When a thermic reaction occurs.
The answer is "partly". Thermal energy consists of the average kinetic energy of the particles (how much they move around, bumping into things and each other) and the average potential energy of the...
thermal energy falls in to kinetic energy
experiment: pour gasoline in a pan and light it. The result is changing potential energy into thermal energy