Specific heat capacity

• The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a substance depends on the type of material, mass of material and the temperature rise.
• The energy required to raise the temperature of 1kg of a material by ! degree is the specific heat capacity (J/kg K)
• Heating increases the internal energy of the material. the internal energy relates to the motion, vibration, rotation and arrangement of the particles.
• Specific heat capacity is calculated by this equation: Change in thermal energy (J)= mass(kg)x specific heat capacity (J/kg K)x change in temperature (C)
• The specific heat capacity of water is 4200J/kg C
• Specific heat capacity shows how resistant a material is to temperature changes.