# 8.2: Measuring Energy and Heat Capacity


Skills to Develop

• Define and distinguish specific heat and heat capacity, and describe the physical implications of both
• Perform calculations involving heat, specific heat, and temperature change

## Measuring Energy and Heat Capacity

We now introduce two concepts useful in describing heat flow and temperature change. The heat capacity (C) of a body of matter is the quantity of heat (q) it absorbs or releases when it experiences a temperature change (ΔT) of 1 degree Celsius (or equivalently, 1 kelvin)

$C=\dfrac{q}{ΔT} \label{5.2.1}$

Heat capacity is determined by both the type and amount of substance that absorbs or releases heat. It is therefore an extensive property—its value is proportional to the amount of the substance.

For example, consider the heat capacities of two cast iron frying pans. The heat capacity of the large pan is five times greater than that of the small pan because, although both are made of the same material, the mass of the large pan is five times greater than the mass of the small pan. More mass means more atoms are present in the larger pan, so it takes more energy to make all of those atoms vibrate faster. The heat capacity of the small cast iron frying pan is found by observing that it takes 18,150 J of energy to raise the temperature of the pan by 50.0 °C

$C_{\text{small pan}}=\mathrm{\dfrac{18,140\; J}{50.0\; °C} =363\; J/°C} \label{5.2.2}$

The larger cast iron frying pan, while made of the same substance, requires 90,700 J of energy to raise its temperature by 50.0 °C. The larger pan has a (proportionally) larger heat capacity because the larger amount of material requires a (proportionally) larger amount of energy to yield the same temperature change:

$C_{\text{large pan}}=\mathrm{\dfrac{90,700\; J}{50.0\;°C}=1814\; J/°C} \label{5.2.3}$

The specific heat capacity (c) of a substance, commonly called its “specific heat,” is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius (or 1 kelvin):

$c = \dfrac{q}{\mathrm{m\Delta T}} \label{5.2.4}$

Specific heat capacity depends only on the kind of substance absorbing or releasing heat. It is an intensive property—the type, but not the amount, of the substance is all that matters. For example, the small cast iron frying pan has a mass of 808 g. The specific heat of iron (the material used to make the pan) is therefore:

$c_\ce{iron}=\mathrm{\dfrac{18,140\; J}{(808\; g)(50.0\;°C)} = 0.449\; J/g\; °C} \label{5.2.5}$

The large frying pan has a mass of 4040 g. Using the data for this pan, we can also calculate the specific heat of iron:

$c_\ce{iron}=\mathrm{\dfrac{90,700\; J}{(4,040\; g)(50.0\;°C)}=0.449\; J/g\; °C} \label{5.2.6}$

Although the large pan is more massive than the small pan, since both are made of the same material, they both yield the same value for specific heat (for the material of construction, iron). Note that specific heat is measured in units of energy per temperature per mass and is an intensive property, being derived from a ratio of two extensive properties (heat and mass). The molar heat capacity, also an intensive property, is the heat capacity per mole of a particular substance and has units of J/mol °C (Figure $$\PageIndex{7}$$).

Figure $$\PageIndex{1}$$: Due to its larger mass, a large frying pan has a larger heat capacity than a small frying pan. Because they are made of the same material, both frying pans have the same specific heat. (credit: Mark Blaser).

Liquid water has a relatively high specific heat (about 4.2 J/g °C); most metals have much lower specific heats (usually less than 1 J/g °C). The specific heat of a substance varies somewhat with temperature. However, this variation is usually small enough that we will treat specific heat as constant over the range of temperatures that will be considered in this chapter. Specific heats of some common substances are listed in Table $$\PageIndex{1}$$.

Table $$\PageIndex{1}$$: Specific Heats of Common Substances at 25 °C and 1 bar
Substance Symbol (state) Specific Heat (J/g °C)
helium He(g) 5.193
water H2O(l) 4.184
ethanol C2H6O(l) 2.376
ice H2O(s) 2.093 (at −10 °C)
water vapor H2O(g) 1.864
nitrogen N2(g) 1.040
air   1.007
oxygen O2(g) 0.918
aluminum Al(s) 0.897
carbon dioxide CO2(g) 0.853
argon Ar(g) 0.522
iron Fe(s) 0.449
copper Cu(s) 0.385
gold Au(s) 0.129
silicon Si(s) 0.712

If we know the mass of a substance and its specific heat, we can determine the amount of heat, q, entering or leaving the substance by measuring the temperature change before and after the heat is gained or lost:

\begin{align*}q&=\ce{(specific\: heat)×(mass\: of\: substance)×(temperature\: change)}\label{5.2.7}\\q&=c×m×ΔT=c×m×(T_\ce{final}−T_\ce{initial})\end{align*}

In this equation, $$c$$ is the specific heat of the substance, m is its mass, and ΔT (which is read “delta T”) is the temperature change, TfinalTinitial. If a substance gains thermal energy, its temperature increases, its final temperature is higher than its initial temperature, TfinalTinitial has a positive value, and the value of q is positive. If a substance loses thermal energy, its temperature decreases, the final temperature is lower than the initial temperature, TfinalTinitial has a negative value, and the value of q is negative.

Example $$\PageIndex{1}$$: Measuring Heat

A flask containing $$\mathrm{8.0 \times 10^2\; g}$$ of water is heated, and the temperature of the water increases from 21 °C to 85 °C. How much heat did the water absorb?

Solution

To answer this question, consider these factors:

• the specific heat of the substance being heated (in this case, water)
• the amount of substance being heated (in this case, 800 g)
• the magnitude of the temperature change (in this case, from 21 °C to 85 °C).

The specific heat of water is 4.184 J/g °C, so to heat 1 g of water by 1 °C requires 4.184 J. We note that since 4.184 J is required to heat 1 g of water by 1 °C, we will need 800 times as much to heat 800 g of water by 1 °C. Finally, we observe that since 4.184 J are required to heat 1 g of water by 1 °C, we will need 64 times as much to heat it by 64 °C (that is, from 21 °C to 85 °C).

This can be summarized using the equation:

$$q=c×m×ΔT=c×m×(T_\ce{final}−T_\ce{initial})$$

\begin{align*} &=\mathrm{(4.184\:J/\cancel{g}°C)×(800\:\cancel{g})×(85−21)°C}\\ &=\mathrm{(4.184\:J/\cancel{g}°\cancel{C})×(800\:\cancel{g})×(64)°\cancel{C}}\\ &=\mathrm{210,000\: J(=210\: kJ)} \end{align*}

Because the temperature increased, the water absorbed heat and $$q$$ is positive.

Exercise $$\PageIndex{1}$$

How much heat, in joules, must be added to a $$\mathrm{5.00 \times 10^2 \;g}$$ iron skillet to increase its temperature from 25 °C to 250 °C? The specific heat of iron is 0.451 J/g °C.

$$\mathrm{5.05 \times 10^4\; J}$$

Note that the relationship between heat, specific heat, mass, and temperature change can be used to determine any of these quantities (not just heat) if the other three are known or can be deduced.

Example $$\PageIndex{2}$$: Determining Other Quantities

A piece of unknown metal weighs 348 g. When the metal piece absorbs 6.64 kJ of heat, its temperature increases from 22.4 °C to 43.6 °C. Determine the specific heat of this metal (which might provide a clue to its identity).

Solution

Since mass, heat, and temperature change are known for this metal, we can determine its specific heat using the relationship:

$q=c \times m \times \Delta T=c \times m \times (T_\ce{final}−T_\ce{initial})$

Substituting the known values:

$6,640\; \ce J=c \times \mathrm{(348\; g) \times (43.6 − 22.4)\; °C}$

Solving:

$c=\mathrm{\dfrac{6,640\; J}{(348\; g) \times (21.2°C)} =0.900\; J/g\; °C}$

Comparing this value with the values in Table $$\PageIndex{1}$$, this value matches the specific heat of aluminum, which suggests that the unknown metal may be aluminum.

Exercise $$\PageIndex{2}$$

A piece of unknown metal weighs 217 g. When the metal piece absorbs 1.43 kJ of heat, its temperature increases from 24.5 °C to 39.1 °C. Determine the specific heat of this metal, and predict its identity.

$$c = \mathrm{0.45 \;J/g \;°C}$$; the metal is likely to be iron from checking Table $$\PageIndex{1}$$.

Solar Thermal Energy Power Plants

The sunlight that reaches the earth contains thousands of times more energy than we presently capture. Solar thermal systems provide one possible solution to the problem of converting energy from the sun into energy we can use. Large-scale solar thermal plants have different design specifics, but all concentrate sunlight to heat some substance; the heat “stored” in that substance is then converted into electricity.

The Solana Generating Station in Arizona’s Sonora Desert produces 280 megawatts of electrical power. It uses parabolic mirrors that focus sunlight on pipes filled with a heat transfer fluid (HTF) (Figure $$\PageIndex{8}$$). The HTF then does two things: It turns water into steam, which spins turbines, which in turn produces electricity, and it melts and heats a mixture of salts, which functions as a thermal energy storage system. After the sun goes down, the molten salt mixture can then release enough of its stored heat to produce steam to run the turbines for 6 hours. Molten salts are used because they possess a number of beneficial properties, including high heat capacities and thermal conductivities.

Figure $$\PageIndex{2}$$: This solar thermal plant uses parabolic trough mirrors to concentrate sunlight. (credit a: modification of work by Bureau of Land Management)

The 377-megawatt Ivanpah Solar Generating System, located in the Mojave Desert in California, is the largest solar thermal power plant in the world (Figure $$\PageIndex{9}$$). Its 170,000 mirrors focus huge amounts of sunlight on three water-filled towers, producing steam at over 538 °C that drives electricity-producing turbines. It produces enough energy to power 140,000 homes. Water is used as the working fluid because of its large heat capacity and heat of vaporization.

Figure $$\PageIndex{3}$$: (a) The Ivanpah solar thermal plant uses 170,000 mirrors to concentrate sunlight on water-filled towers. (b) It covers 4000 acres of public land near the Mojave Desert and the California-Nevada border. (credit a: modification of work by Craig Dietrich; credit b: modification of work by “USFWS Pacific Southwest Region”/Flickr)

## Summary

Video $$\PageIndex{1}$$: A video summary of Energy and Chemistry.

Energy is the capacity to do work (applying a force to move matter). Kinetic energy (KE) is the energy of motion; potential energy is energy due to relative position, composition, or condition. When energy is converted from one form into another, energy is neither created nor destroyed (law of conservation of energy or first law of thermodynamics). Matter has thermal energy due to the KE of its molecules and temperature that corresponds to the average KE of its molecules. Heat is energy that is transferred between objects at different temperatures; it flows from a high to a low temperature. Chemical and physical processes can absorb heat (endothermic) or release heat (exothermic). The SI unit of energy, heat, and work is the joule (J). Specific heat and heat capacity are measures of the energy needed to change the temperature of a substance or object. The amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance depends directly on the type of substance, its mass, and the temperature change it undergoes.

## Key Equations

• $$q=c×m×ΔT=c×m×(T_\ce{final}−T_\ce{initial})$$

## Glossary

calorie (cal)
unit of heat or other energy; the amount of energy required to raise 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius; 1 cal is defined as 4.184 J
endothermic process
chemical reaction or physical change that absorbs heat
energy
capacity to supply heat or do work
exothermic process
chemical reaction or physical change that releases heat
heat (q)
transfer of thermal energy between two bodies
heat capacity (C)
extensive property of a body of matter that represents the quantity of heat required to increase its temperature by 1 degree Celsius (or 1 kelvin)
joule (J)
SI unit of energy; 1 joule is the kinetic energy of an object with a mass of 2 kilograms moving with a velocity of 1 meter per second, 1 J = 1 kg m2/s and 4.184 J = 1 cal
kinetic energy
energy of a moving body, in joules, equal to $$\dfrac{1}{2}mv^2$$ (where m = mass and v = velocity)
potential energy
energy of a particle or system of particles derived from relative position, composition, or condition
specific heat capacity (c)
intensive property of a substance that represents the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of the substance by 1 degree Celsius (or 1 kelvin)
temperature
intensive property of matter that is a quantitative measure of “hotness” and “coldness”
thermal energy
kinetic energy associated with the random motion of atoms and molecules
thermochemistry
study of measuring the amount of heat absorbed or released during a chemical reaction or a physical change
work (w)
energy transfer due to changes in external, macroscopic variables such as pressure and volume; or causing matter to move against an opposing force