3.2.2 Specific Heat Capacity

• Specific heat capacity (ccc)

  The amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of a substance by one degree Celsius (or one Kelvin)
• Variables in the specific heat capacity formula


  • Q (Heat energy absorbed or released)
  • m (Mass of the substance)
  • c (Specific heat capacity)
  • Δθ (Change in temperature)
• Q


  Heat energy absorbed or released (in joules, J)
• m

  Mass of the substance (in kilograms, kg)
• c

  Specific heat capacity (in joules per kilogram per degree Celsius, J/kg°C)
• Δθ

  Change in temperature (in degrees Celsius, °C or Kelvin, K)
• Different substances require different amounts of energy to change their temperature
• High Specific Heat Capacity


  Requires more energy to increase temperature
• Water is effective at storing and transferring heat, which is why it's used in cooling systems and as a heat buffer
• Low Specific Heat Capacity


  Requires less energy to increase temperature
• Metals heat up and cool down quickly compared to substances with high specific heat capacities
• Calculating Specific Heat Capacity

  1. Example calculation

  2. Determining unknowns
• To find the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of a substance

  Rearrange the formula to solve for Q