Concept preview

What you will be able to do

1. 01Use Q = mcΔT to calculate heat transferred
2. 02Apply calorimetry (heat lost = heat gained) and latent heat Q = mL
3. 03Calculate efficiency as useful output over total input

Some things heat up in a flash; others take forever. The specific heat capacity $c$ is the energy needed to raise 1 kg of a substance by 1 °C, in J/(kg·°C). Water's is huge — about 4200 J/(kg·°C) — roughly ten times that of iron. That's why water takes so long to boil, makes an excellent coolant and hot-water bottle, and why oceans moderate the climate of whole continents.