What a learner can do afterwards
- Rearranges the equation to find energy, mass, capacity or temperature change
- Compares two materials of equal mass given the same energy and says which warms more
- Justifies a material choice for a heater, a coolant or a cooking pan using its capacity
1 · Read
Specific heat capacity is the energy needed to warm one kilogram of a material by one degree. It is a fingerprint of the material. Water has a huge value and metals have tiny ones. Give equal masses of water and steel the same energy and the steel ends far hotter.
Energy, mass, capacity and temperature change are linked by one equation. Energy equals mass times capacity times temperature change. You can rearrange it to find any of the four. If you know three of them, divide or multiply to get the missing one.
Mara picks a coolant for a machine. She chooses water because its high capacity carries lots of heat with only a small rise in temperature. For a cooking pan base she picks copper instead, since its low capacity heats fast and responds quickly to the dial.
Use this equation only when nothing melts or boils. Melting ice and boiling kettles soak up energy with no temperature change, and that hidden energy is latent heat. Check for a change of state before you pick an equation.
Capacity tells you how stubborn a material is about warming up.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.