Is temperature a measure of heat gained?

Answer 1

Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is energy something has because of its movement. So, when something increases in energy, that means that the average kintetic energy has increased, which in turn is caused by gaining heat. However, temperature itself is not the actual measurement of heat gained.

Answer 2

Temperature can be a measure of the heat gained, but not always. For example, one calorie of heat is the amount that is gained by a gram of water to raise the temperature by 1degC. So every time the temperature goes up 1degC, you know that the 1g water has gained 1 cal.

If you add heat to a gram of ice at 0degC, however, the ice must gain 80 calories to melt it to water at 0degC before it can start rising in temperature at the rate of 1degC per calorie.

The heat capacity of ice is about 0.6 calories per gram per 1degC. So if you start with ice anywhere down to -273degC, you can judge the heat gained by a gram of ice by the rising temperature toward 0degC.