Specific heat capacity
The energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1 K, measured in J/(kg·K). Denoted by c, it is a material property. The heat required is Q = mcΔT, where m is mass and ΔT is temperature change. Different materials have different specific heat capacities; water has an unusually high value (~4200 J/(kg·K)) because of hydrogen bonding.
Formula
Q = mcΔT
Real World
Engineers designing the cooling system for a Tesla Model 3 chose water-glycol coolant partly because water's high specific heat capacity (~4200 J/kg·K) absorbs large amounts of battery heat with only a small temperature rise.
Exam Focus
Always show ΔT as the temperature difference in Kelvin or Celsius — never use absolute temperature alone in this equation.
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