Specific Heat

Empirical Observations

Ø The heat required to change the temperature of a material is proportional to its mass and the change in temperature

Ø So, as usual, we set up an expression        Q = cmDT    where c is the constant of proportionality

Ø Using dimensional analysis, we have Q(J) = cm(kg)DT (C) ð J = kg(c) which means that c must have units of J/kg C

Ø The specific heats are determined experimentally

Specific Heat of Some Substances

At 1 atm pressure and 200 C