There are lots of ways that we use materials that see them change temperature. Some examples include heating systems in buildings (especially storage heaters), simple household appliances such as an iron or an oven, combustion engines in cars, jet engines in aircraft, high speed machines such as drills, and industrial furnaces; however, examples also include applications where the temperature is reduced, for example in refrigerators, freezers and heat sinks, which are used to help cool another component.
A change in a material’s temperature will also result in a change in its heat energy. Different materials, however, will have a different change in heat energy for a given change in temperature.
The material's property we use to show this difference is called specific heat capacity. This property is key to allowing us to understand how components will perform in thermal applications and help us to choose the most appropriate material. If you go to study Physics or Engineering at university you will probably also learn how specific heat capacity values depend on a material’s types of atom, atomic bonding and electrical properties.
Use this experiment to find out more!
Download the files below for activities and associated worksheets for the Specific Heat Capacity: Solids experiment (requires login).
- ACTIVITY 1: Measurement of specific heat capacity of a material
- ACTIVITY 2: Comparison of specific heat capacity for different materials
- ACTIVITY 3: Measurement of specific heat capacity using different heating powers
- ACTIVITY 4: Effect of insulation on measuring specific heat capacity
(Available as separate downloads or all activities/all worksheets)
