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Specific Heat Capacity
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Temperature and kinetic energy
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Heat and temperature
The heat energy stored in a material may be thought of as
the total kinetic energy of all the particles.
Compared to a spark, the particles in a bath of
water move slowly, so it has a relatively low
temperature, but there is a large amount of
energy stored since there are many particles.
Which contains more heat energy: a bath of hot water or a
small spark from a fire?
The particles in a spark from a fire move
around very quickly, so it has a high
temperature. However, there are only a few
particles, so it has very little stored heat energy.
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Investigating temperature change
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What factors affect temperature change?
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How does energy affect materials?
Do different materials need the same amount of energy to
increase their temperature by the same amount?
To increase the
temperature of 1kg
of water by 1 °C,
requires 4200J.
To increase the
temperature of 1kg
of copper by 1 °C,
requires 390J.
Water and copper require different amounts of energy because
they have different values for a property called specific heat
capacity (SHC). SHC is the amount of energy required to
increase the temperature of 1kg of a material by 1°C.
So, the specific heat capacity for water is 4200J/kg°C
and for copper is 390J/kg°C.
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Factors affecting temperature change
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What is specific heat capacity?
The specific heat capacity of a material is the amount of
energy required to raise 1kg of the material by 1 °C.
Energy is measured in joules (J).
It can be used to work out how much energy is needed to
raise the temperature of a material by a certain amount:
energyspecific heat
capacitytemperature
change= mass × ×
Mass is measured in kilograms (kg).
Temperature change is measured in °C.
Specific heat capacity is measured in J/kg°C.
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Specific heat capacity example
How much energy is needed to
increase the temperature of 600g
of water by 80°C in a kettle?
energy = 0.6kg × 4,200J/kg°C × 80°C
= 201,600J
Note: mass = 600g = 0.6kg and
the specific heat capacity
of water is 4,200J/kg°C.
energyspecific heat
capacitytemperature
change= mass × ×
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Choosing suitable materials
Different materials have different specific heat capacity
values. A high value means that the material can store a large
amount of heat energy for a minimal temperature change.
For example, concrete is used in night
storage heaters. Concrete has an SHC
of 880J/kg°C. This is high compared
with other suitable materials such as
granite (SHC = 790J/kg°C).
Radiators use closed liquid systems.
Water is used because it has an extremely
high SHC of 4200J/kg°C. This is much
higher than oil, for example, with a typical
SHC of 1800J/kg°C.
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Specific heat capacity of metals
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The specific heat capacity equation
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Specific heat capacity calculations
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Glossary
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Multiple choice quiz