1) Heat is the transfer of thermal energy between objects due to a temperature difference, while temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of a substance's particles.
2) Matter can exist in solid, liquid, gas, or plasma states depending on temperature and pressure, with the strength of intermolecular forces also influencing state changes.
3) The first law of thermodynamics states that heat energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system, only transferred, and the second law states that heat spontaneously flows from hotter to colder substances.