SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY The Specific Heat Capacity (c) of a substance is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of the substance by 1 K.
Heat Heat Capacity HEAT CAPACITY
The Heat Capacity (C) of a body is the amount of heat required to raise the tem- perature of the body by 1 K.
It is a scalar quantity with an SI unit of joule per kelvin (J K1). heat heat capacity change in temperature
SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY
Q mc Q energy (supplied or withdrawn)
m mass of body c specific heat capacity
change in temperature
It is a scalar quantity with an SI unit of joule per kilogram per kelvin (J kg1 K1). heat mass specific heat capacity change in temperature
The specific heat capacity of the following should be noted, but will be given to you if required in the Leaving Cert. examination: cwater 4 180 J kg1 K1
The amount of energy stored in food is usually given in Calories (kcal). Calculate the energy in kilojoules of 1 Calorie, given that 1 kcal is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1 C and the specific heat capacity of water is 4 184 J kg1 K1.
