Specific Heat Capacity

What is the formula involving specific heat capacity?

ΔE = mcΔθ

How much energy is needed to warm 1 kg of water by 1°C?

4200 J

Why do materials that need to gain lots of energy to warm up transfer loads of energy when they cool down?

They can 'store' a lot of energy.

What does m stand for in the formula ΔE = mcΔθ?

Mass (kg)

Why do different materials have different specific heat capacities?

More energy needs to be transferred to the thermal energy store of some materials to increase their temperature than others.

What does ΔE stand for in the formula ΔE = mcΔθ?

Change in thermal energy (J)

How much energy is needed to warm 1 kg of mercury by 1°C?

139 J

What is specific heat capacity?

The amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1°C.

Find the final temperature of 5 kg of water, initially at 5°C, after 50 kJ of energy has been transferred. The specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J/kg°C.

T = (50000 / (5 * 4200)) + 5 = 7.38°C

What is the formula triangle for specific heat capacity?

ΔE at the top; m, c, Δθ at the bottom.

What does Δθ stand for in the formula ΔE = mcΔθ?

Temperature change (°C)

How do you find the change in temperature (Δθ) in °C?

Subtract the initial temperature from the final temperature.

What does c stand for in the formula ΔE = mcΔθ?

Specific heat capacity (J/kg°C)

Find the energy needed to heat 2.00 kg of water from 10°C to 100°C. The specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J/kg°C.

756,000 J