sciencegcse← P3 lessons

Physics Paper 1 · P3 · Lesson 3.7

Heating and specific heat capacity

Use mass, material and temperature change to calculate energy.

Key ideas1 of 3

What is specific heat capacity?

Specific heat capacity, c, is the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1°C, without a change of state. Its unit is J/kg°C.

Specific heat capacity is the energy in joules needed to raise 1 kg of a substance by 1 degree Celsius.

For the same mass and energy input, a higher c gives a smaller temperature rise.

Next: Energy for changes of state →
Topic resources and sources

Daily 5 · Exam practice · A4 revision sheet

All P3 content here is shared by Foundation and Higher Tier. Stretch questions combine the core ideas; they are not additional Higher Tier-only content.

AQA Combined Science Trilogy specification · 6.3.2.2. Original notes, questions and diagrams. Particle diagrams are simplified; animation speeds and experimental numbers are illustrative.

Photographs: Melt by Kathy Jantz, CC BY 4.0; Menisco 18mL-2 by Leandro Maranghetti Lourenço, CC BY-SA 3.0 (chosen from the licences offered); Bicycle Pump foot operated by Scott Ehardt (SCEhardt), Public domain, released worldwide by copyright holder. Images displayed without cropping or alteration; a resized source image is used for the ice.