P1 - Specific Heat Capacity

Specific heat capacity;

• the amount of energy a substance can store
• the amount of energy it takes to heat 1kg of a substance by 1 degree celsius
• varies from substance to substance
• for example, water's SHC is higher than mercury's

You need to learn the equation for specific heat capacity for your exam.

ENERGY = MASS  X  SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY  X  TEMPERATURE CHANGE

or...

                 energy                  

mass x SHC x temp. change

1. How much energy is needed to heat 2kg of water from 10 degrees celsius to 100 degrees celsius?

2. An empty 200g aluminium container cools down from 115 degrees celsius to 10 degrees celsius and loses 19,068J of energy. What is the SHC of aluminium?

***Questions from the "CGP GCSE Physics Exam Board: OCR Gateway" book***

1. 756,000J

2. 908J/kg/°C