Question

What is specific heat measured in?

Answer 1

Specific heat represents the amount of heat required to change a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius. This is expressed mathematically as:

`q = m * c * DeltaT`, where

`q` - the amount of heat supplied;
`m` - the mass of the substance;
`c` - the respective substance's specific heat;
`DeltaT` - the change in temperature.

So, if we want to determine the units for specific heat, we'll just isolate the term in the above formula to get

`c = q/(m * DeltaT)`. Since heat is measured in Joules (J), mass in grams (g), and temperature in degree Celsius (`C`), we can determine that

`c = J/(g * ^@C)`.

Therefore, specific heat is measured in Joules per g times degree Celsius.