Specific heat capacity

May 23 , 2022
Mikayla Bryan

What is specific heat capacity

The specific heat capacity is defined as the quantity of heat (J) absorbed per unit mass (kg) of the material when its
temperature increases 1 K (or 1 °C), and its units are J/(kg K) or J/(kg °C).

Equation
energy= mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature

Example
An empty 0.2kg aluminum kettle is allowed to cool down from 115C to 10C . The specific heat capacity of the aluminum is 908/kg C . How
much energy is released to change the surroundings?

energy= mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature

Temperature change = 115-10 = 105C
Energy = .2 x 908 x 105
=19068
Questions
1. How much ENERGY is needed to raise the temperature of 2kg of copper from 9 c to 10 c. the specific heat capacity of copper is
380/kg C
Solution
energy= mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature
Temperature change = 1 C
Energy =2 x 380 x 1
= 760j

2. A hot water bottle is filled with 0.8kg of water at 80 C. during the night it cools to 30 C .the specific heat capacity of water is
4200j/kg C . How much ENERGY does he use?
Solution
energy= mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature
Temperature change =50 C
Energy = 0.8 x 50 x 4200
=168000j
 3. How much energy is needed to heat 2 kg of cooking oil with a specific heat capacity of 2000jkg/kg C from 20 C to 120 C ?
Solution
energy= mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature
Temperature change = 100 C
Energy = 2000 x 2 x 100
= 400000j
4. Andy has a bath and uses 1500 g of water heated from 10 C to 40 C and with the specific heat capacity of 4200j/kg C . How much
energy does he use?
Solution
energy= mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature
Temperature change= 30 C
energy= 30 x 1.5 x 4200
= 189000 j

5. An electric kettle supplies 20,000j of energy to heat 0.5kg of water. What is the temperature change ? The specific heat capacity
of water is 4200/kg C.
Solution
energy= mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature
energy
=temperature change
mass x specific heat capacity
20,000
=9.524 C
0.5 x 4200
Temperature change= 9.524

6. A piece of lead with a specific heat capacity of 126j/kg C is given 5000j of energy to heat it from 20 C to
250 C . What was the mass of the piece of lead?
Solution
energy= mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature
energy
=mass
specific heat capacity x change∈temperature
5000
=0.17 kg
126 x 230
Mass = 0.17kg

7. A 2 kg metal cylinder is supplied with 1600j of energy to heat it from 5 C to 13C. What is the specific heat capacity of the metal?
Solution
energy
=specific heat capacity
mass x temperature change
 1600
=100 j/kg C
2x 8
Specific heat capacity =100j/kg C

8. 201,600 is supplied to 600g of water with a specific heat capacity of 4200j/kg C . What is the change in temperature?
Solution
energy mass x specific heat capacity =temperature change
energy
=temperature change
mass x specific heat capacity
201,600
=80 C
0.6 x 4200
Temperature change = 80 C

9. CHALLENGE! Becky has a shower and uses 20,000g of water with a specific heat capacity of 4200j/kg C . Where the water is supplied
with 336,000j of energy . it heats up to 50 C . What was the starting temperature of the water?
Solution
energy mass x specific heat capacity =temperature change
energy
50− =temperature at the start
mass x specific heat capacity
336,000
50− =46
20 x 4200
Temperature at start = 46

10. Explain why houses built of stone take a long time to warm up. But once they are warm they stay warm for a very long time
★ Because stone has a high specific heat capacity, it requires a lot of energy to heat up. Once it has reached that
temperature, it must expend a lot of energy to cool down.