Specific Heat Capacity as a Material Property · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Why water warms slowly

Science · Energy · ages 15-16
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Equal masses of water and steel get the same energy. Which ends hotter?

    • The steel
    • The water
    • They end exactly equal

  2. What does the specific heat capacity of a material tell you?

    • How fast it cools in a draught
    • The energy to warm one kilogram by one degree
    • The temperature at which it melts

  3. When should you NOT use the capacity equation?

    • When you know the mass
    • When the rise is small
    • When the substance melts or boils

  4. A heater gives 6000 joules to a 3 kg block of capacity 400. What is the temperature rise in degrees?

    Answer: ______________

  5. A 2 kg block has capacity 500 and warms by 10 degrees. How much energy is needed?

    • 520 joules
    • 5200 joules
    • 10000 joules

  6. Which material suits a coolant that must carry heat with little rise?

    • One that melts easily
    • One with a very high capacity
    • One with a very low capacity

  7. Why does the sea warm up far more slowly than land in summer?

    • Water has a far higher capacity than soil
    • The sea is deeper than soil
    • Wind cools the sea more

  8. A student uses the capacity equation for boiling water and gets a wrong answer. What is the mistake?

    • The mass was weighed wrong
    • The thermometer was broken
    • Boiling uses latent heat, not capacity
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Why water warms slowly W1-mt_mXC9IKom3P-s1

  1. The steel · Steel has the far smaller capacity, so the same energy warms it more.
  2. The energy to warm one kilogram by one degree · Capacity is energy per kilogram per degree, nothing else.
  3. When the substance melts or boils · Melting and boiling use latent heat, with no temperature change.
  4. 5 · Rearrange to change equals energy over mass times capacity.
  5. 10000 joules · Multiply mass times capacity times change: 2 times 500 times 10.
  6. One with a very high capacity · High capacity soaks up lots of energy for a small rise.
  7. Water has a far higher capacity than soil · High capacity water needs far more energy per degree.
  8. Boiling uses latent heat, not capacity · Boiling spends energy on bonds, not on temperature rise.
Worksheet · LightMySky