Specific Heat Capacity Flashcards
What is the relationship between how much energy a material that gains to warm up and how much energy it releases when it cools down again?
What does this mean?
The more energy it gains when it warms up the more energy it releases when it cools down again.
Some materials can therefore ‘store’ a lot of heat energy
What is specific heat capacity?
A measure of how much energy a substance can store
Define specific heat capacity specifically
The amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1kg of a substance by 1oC
What is water’s specific heat capacity?
4200 J/kgoC
What is an important thing to remember when working out a substance’s specific heat capacity?
To convert the mass of the object into kg
(if it isn’t already - always check)
The materials used in heaters usually have ____ specific heat capacities so that they can store ____ amounts of ____ ____
The materials used in heaters usually have high specific heat capacities so that they can store large amounts of heat energy
Name 2 reasons why water is a useful substance for using in heating systems?
- It has a really high specific heat capacity
- It is a liquid - it is easily pumped around pipes - ideal for central heating systems in buildings
What are electric storage heaters designed to do?
Store heat energy at night (when electricity is cheaper) then release it during the day
What do electric storage heaters use to store heat energy in?
Why?
Concrete or bricks
They have a high specific heat capacity (arouns 880 J/kgoC)
Name a disadvantage of using oil in a heater
Its specific heat capacity of 2000 J/kgoC is lower than water’s, so cannot store and release as much heat energy as water
Name one advantage of using oil in a heater
Oil has a higher boiling point than water, so oil-filled heaters can safely reach higher temperatures than water-based ones.
What is the unit of specific heat capacity?
J/kgoC
