An unknown substance is found to require a very large amount of heat energy to raise its temperature a single degree. Does it have a high specific heat capacity or a samall specific capacity? Explain
High specific heat: amount of heat to raise a certain mass by 1 degree
To determine whether the unknown substance has a high or low specific heat capacity, we need to understand what specific heat capacity is.
Specific heat capacity (often referred to simply as "specific heat") is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a specific amount of a substance by one degree Celsius (or one Kelvin). It is a measure of how much heat energy a substance can absorb or release without changing its temperature significantly.
If a substance requires a large amount of heat energy to raise its temperature by just one degree, it means that it has a high specific heat capacity. This is because it takes a significant amount of energy to increase the temperature of the substance.
On the other hand, if a substance requires only a small amount of heat energy to raise its temperature by one degree, it would have a low specific heat capacity.
Therefore, based on the information provided, the unknown substance has a high specific heat capacity.