Specific Heat Capacity

Specific Heat Capacity

Specific heat capacity is defined as the amount of heat required to change the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1°C.
  1. Specific heat capacity is a physical quantity used to compare the heat capacity of a given material of the same mass.
  2. It is the measure of how much energy can be store in 1 kg of mass of a substance.
  3. Specific heat capacity is defined as the amount of heat required to change the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1°C.
    Mathematically, c= Q/mθ [Q = heat, c = specific heat capacity, m = mass, θ = change of temperature]
  4. The SI unit of specific heat capacity is J/kg/°C.
  5. For example, the specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J/kg/°C means 4200J of heat energy is needed to change the temperature of 1kg water by 1°C.
  6. The amount of heat transferred in an object when temperature change can be calculated by using the following equation.