Multiple Choice
Which of the following values is closest to the specific heat capacity of liquid water at standard conditions?
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8. Thermochemistry
Heat Capacity
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Which of the following best describes the difference between heat capacity and specific heat?
A
Heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of an entire object by 1°C, while specific heat is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1°C.
B
Heat capacity and specific heat are identical terms and can be used interchangeably.
C
Specific heat is the total heat absorbed by a substance, while heat capacity is the heat absorbed per unit mass.
D
Heat capacity is a property that depends only on the type of material, while specific heat depends on the mass of the object.
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand that heat capacity and specific heat both relate to how much heat energy is needed to raise temperature, but they differ in what they refer to.
Heat capacity (C) is defined as the amount of heat (q) required to raise the temperature (ΔT) of an entire object by 1°C, expressed as \(C = \frac{q}{\Delta T}\).
Specific heat (c) is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1°C, expressed as \(c = \frac{q}{m \Delta T}\), where \(m\) is the mass in grams.
Note that heat capacity depends on the total amount of substance (mass and material), while specific heat is an intensive property that depends only on the type of material, not the amount.
Therefore, the key difference is that heat capacity refers to the whole object, while specific heat refers to heat per unit mass of the substance.
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