Materials of the same mass require a different quantity of heat to change (increase or decrease) their temperatures to the same level. The quantity of heat needed to change (increase or decrease) the temperature of a unit mass a material by 1°C is known as the specific heat capacity of that material. The specific heat capacity depends on the type of material.
In this topic, you will more about specific heat capacity, the concept of calorimetry, and specific heat capacity of water.
Heat – The kinetic energy due to the random motion of the molecules of a substance is known as its heat energy. Each body possesses heat energy in the form of its internal kinetic energy.
Calorimetry – The measurement of the quantity of heat is called calorimetry.
Temperature – The average internal kinetic energy of molecules of a substance is a measure of the temperature of that substance.
Calorimetry also plays a large part of everyday life, controlling the metabolic rates in humans and consequently maintaining such functions like body temperature. Because calorimetry is used to measure the heat of a reaction, it is a crucial part of thermodynamics. The purpose of making calorimetric measurements on minerals and other substances is to obtain enthalpy information. The enthalpy values that are measured relate to the bond strengths in a substance and constitute one of several types of energy used to determine the stability conditions of geologic materials.