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1.1. Heat Capacity and Calorimetry

Heat Capacity and Specific Heat

The heat capacity (c) of a body of matter is the quantity of heat (q) it absorbs or releases when it
experiences a temperature change (ΔT) of 1 degree Celsius (or equivalently, 1 kelvin):
𝑞
𝑐= (1.3)
∆𝑇

Heat capacity is determined by both the type and amount of substance that absorbs or releases heat. It is
therefore an extensive property—its value is proportional to the amount of the substance.

For example, consider the heat capacities of two cast iron frying pans. The heat capacity of the large pan
is five times greater than that of the small pan because, although both are made of the same material, the
mass of the large pan is five times greater than the mass of the small pan. More mass means more atoms
are present in the larger pan, so it takes more energy to make all of those atoms vibrate faster. The heat
capacity of the small cast iron frying pan is found by observing that it takes 18,150 J of energy to raise
the temperature of the pan by 50.0 °C:
18,150J
𝑐𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑛 = = 363 𝐽/0 𝐶
50.0 °C

The larger cast iron frying pan, while made of the same substance, requires 90,700 J of energy to raise
its temperature by 50.0 °C. The larger pan has a (proportionally) larger heat capacity because the larger
amount of material requires a (proportionally) larger amount of energy to yield the same temperature
change:
90,700J
𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑛 = = 1,814 𝐽/0 𝐶
50.0 °C

The specific heat capacity (c) of a substance, commonly called its “specific heat,” is the quantity of
heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius (or 1 kelvin):
𝑞
𝑐= (1.4)
𝑚∆𝑇

Specific heat capacity depends only on the kind of substance absorbing or releasing heat. It is an
intensive property—the type, but not the amount, of the substance is all that matters.

For example, the small cast iron frying pan has a mass of 808 g. The specific heat of iron (the material
used to make the pan) is therefore:
18,150J
𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛 = = 0.449 𝐽/𝑔0 𝐶
(808g)(50.0 °C)

The large frying pan has a mass of 4040 g using the data for this pan, we can also calculate the specific
heat of iron:
90,700J
𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛 = = 0.449 𝐽/𝑔0 𝐶
(4040g)(50.0 °C)

Suppose that we wish to raise the temperature of two different systems or objects. In general, the different
systems will absorb different amounts of energy based on three main factors: the amount of material, the
type of material, and the temperature change.

We have two options for expressing the amount of material: by mass or by moles. Either choice leads to
a usable equation. You already familiar with the use of mass because that is commonly done in physics.

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In that case, the identity of the substance is included through a term called the specific heat capacity (c,
usually simply called the specific heat), leading equation 5.
𝑞 = 𝑚𝑐∆𝑇 (1.5)

In this equation, c is the specific heat of the substance, m is its mass, and ΔT (which is read
“delta T”) is the temperature change, Tfinal − Tinitial. If a substance gains thermal energy, its temperature
increases, its final temperature is higher than its initial temperature, Tfinal − Tinitial has a positive value,
and the value of q is positive. If a substance loses thermal energy, its temperature decreases, the final
temperature is lower than the initial temperature, Tfinal − Tinitial has a negative value, and the value of q is
negative.

The specific heat is a physical property of a material that measures how much heat is required
to raise the temperature of one gram of that material by 10C. Similarly, the molar heat capacity is a
physical property that describes how much heat is required to raise the temperature of one mole of a
substance by 10C. So if we choose to express the amount of material in terms of moles rather than mass,
our equation changes only slightly.
𝑞 = 𝑚𝑐𝑝 ∆𝑇 (1.6)
where:
𝑐𝑝 = the heat capacity at constant pressure, under other conditions such as constant volume, the
value of the heat capacity may differ slightly
Table 1. Specific heat and molar heat capacities for some common substances
Specific Heat, c Molar Heat Capacity, cp
Substance
(J g-1 K-1) (J mol-1 K-1)
Al(s) 0.900 24.3
Cu(s) 0.385 24.5
H2O(s) 2.09 37.7
H2O(l) 4.184 75.3
H2O(g) 2.03 36.4

Table 1A. Specific Heats of Common Substances at 250C and 1 bar (From other source)

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Either equation provides the same information about the heat needed to produce a given chance in
temperature. As long as we know the molar mass of the substance, it should be simple to convert between
the specific heat and the molar heat capacity.

Example 2. Heating a 24.0 g aluminum can raises its temperature by 15.0 0C. Find the value of q for the
can.

Given:
m = 24.0 g aluminum
c = 0.900 J/g0C refer to Table 1
T = 15.00C
Solution:
𝑞 = 𝑚𝑐∆𝑇
𝑞 = 24.0 𝑔 ∗ 0.900 J/g0C * 15.00C
𝑞 = 324 𝐽

Example 3. The molar heat capacity of liquid water is 75.3 J/mol K. If 37.5 g of water is cooled from
42.0 to 7.00C, what is q for the water?
Given:
m = 37.5 g water
𝑐𝑝 = 75.3 J/mol 0C
Solution:
𝑞 = 𝑚𝑐𝑝 ∆𝑇
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 75.3 𝐽
𝑞 = 37.5 𝑔 ∗ 18.0 𝑔
∗ 𝑚𝑜𝑙 0 C
− 35.00 𝐶
3
𝑞 = −5.49 𝐽 ∗ 10 = −5.49 𝑘𝐽

The negative value indicates that the system (water) has lost energy to the surroundings. Notice
that as long as we correctly express ∆𝑇 as Tfinal – Tinitial, the correct sign for q will result automatically.

In the previous examples, we have simply stated that a given amount of heat was added to or removed
from our system, without considering the source of that heat. Although this lets us familiarize ourselves
with the equations, it isn’t very realistic. In a more common application, we can use the same type of
equations to determine heat flow between two objects.

Example 4. A glass contains 250.0 g of warm water at 78.00C. A piece of gold at 2.300C is placed in the
water. The final temperature reached by this system is 76.90C. What was the mass of gold? The specific
heat of water is 4.184 J/g 0C and that of gold is 0.129 J/g 0C.

Solution:
𝑞𝑔𝑜𝑙𝑑 = −𝑞𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑚𝑔𝑜𝑙𝑑 ∗ 𝑐𝑔𝑜𝑙𝑑 ∗ ∆𝑇𝑔𝑜𝑙𝑑 = −𝑚𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 ∗ 𝑐𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 ∗ ∆𝑇𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
0.129 J 4.184 J
𝑚𝑔𝑜𝑙𝑑 ∗ 0 ∗ 74.60 C = −250.0 g ∗ 0 ∗ −1.10 C
𝑔 𝐶 𝑔 𝐶
𝑚𝑔𝑜𝑙𝑑 = 120 𝑔

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