Specific Heat Capacity
2 guided lessons · 18 checks · 5. Solids, Liquids and Gases → Changes of State
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Defining specific heat capacity
Specific heat capacity is the price, in joules, of lifting one kilogram of a substance by one degree Celsius. High-capacity substances are slow to warm and slow to cool; low-capacity substances sprint through both.
What you know already
Different substances are differently stubborn about warming: water soaks up four thousand joules per kilogram per degree, metals far less. This note defines specific heat capacity, contrasts the high-capacity and low-capacity worlds, and drills the ΔQ = mcΔT calculation to a two-significant-figure finish.
Key points of understanding
- Specific heat capacity is the energy needed to warm 1 kg of a substance by 1 °C.
- Its unit is joules per kilogram per degree Celsius, written J/kg °C.
- Water has a high specific heat capacity, so it warms up and cools down slowly.
- Substances with a low specific heat capacity heat up and cool down quickly for the same energy.
- The temperature change for a given energy input depends on the mass and the material heated.
Low vs high specific heat capacity
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1.Defining specific heat capacity
Specific heat capacity is the price, in joules, of lifting one kilogram of a substance by one degree Celsius. High-capacity substances are slow to warm and slow to cool; low-capacity substances sprint through both.
Low vs high specific heat capacity
Key points
- Specific heat capacity is the energy needed to warm 1 kg of a substance by 1 °C.
- Its unit is joules per kilogram per degree Celsius, written J/kg °C.
- Water has a high specific heat capacity, so it warms up and cools down slowly.
- Substances with a low specific heat capacity heat up and cool down quickly for the same energy.
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