Specific heat capacity is a property of a substance that tells us how much heat energy is required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of the substance by 1 degree Celsius (or 1 Kelvin).
Key points:
- Definition: It is the amount of heat (Q) needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1°C.
- Symbol: Usually denoted by c.
- Unit: The SI unit is joule per kilogram per degree Celsius (J/kg·°C).
- Dependence: It depends on the material; different substances require different amounts of heat to change their temperature. For example, water has a high specific heat capacity, which is why it heats up and cools down slowly.
In simple words: Specific heat capacity tells us how “resistant” a substance is to temperature change when it absorbs or loses heat.