Required Practical: Investigating Specific Heat Capacity (AQA GCSE Physics): Revision Notes
📚 Revision Notes
1.1.9 Required Practical: Investigating Specific Heat Capacity
Specific Heat Capacity
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Different materials need different amounts of energy to increase their temperature. The property that determines this is called the specific heat capacity.
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The specific heat capacity is represented by a lower-case c_c_ and is measured in J/kg°C.
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Materials with a high specific heat capacity need a lot of thermal energy to increase their temperature. Materials with a low specific heat capacity need less thermal energy to increase their temperature.
Specific Heat Capacity
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The energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1°C or 1K.
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Formula
Variables
- : Change in thermal energy, in joules (J)
- : Mass, in kilogrammes (kg)
- : Specific heat capacity, in joules per kilogramme per degree Celsius ()
- : Temperature change, in degrees Celsius (°C)
Explanation
- Specific Heat Capacity : A property of the substance being heated.
- Formula Usage: calculates the energy required to cause a specific temperature change in a given mass of a substance.
Specific Heat Capacity Practical
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Determining the Specific Heat Capacity of Vegetable Oil
Sources of Inaccuracy
| Inaccuracy | Correction |
|---|---|
| Thermal energy passes out of the beaker into the air. | Use an insulator with a lower thermal conductivity. |
| Not all thermal energy passes into the oil. | Ensure that the immersion heater is fully submerged. |
| Incorrect reading of thermometer. | Use an electronic temperature probe. |
| Thermal energy is not being spread through the oil. | Stir the oil. |