Question

Object a has less thermal energy than object b, but heat flows from object a to object

b. what conditions would make it possible?

Answer 1

When you bring two objects of different temperature together, energy will always be transferred from the hotter to the cooler object. The objects will exchange thermal energy, until thermal equilibrium is reached, i.e. until their temperatures are equal. We say that heat flows from the hotter to the cooler object.