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What is specific heat capacity? Mention its unit.

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Last updated date: 23rd Apr 2024
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Answer
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Hint: The specific heat capacity abbreviated as $c$ is the heat capacity of a sample of a substance divided by the mass of the same sample. Casually speaking, it is the amount of energy that should be added to one unit of mass of the substance in order to cause an increase of one unit in its temperature in the form of heat.

Complete step by step answer:
The specific heat capacity abbreviated as is the heat capacity of a sample of a substance divided by the mass of the same sample. Casually speaking, it is the amount of energy that should be added to one unit of mass of the substance in order to cause an increase of one unit in its temperature in the form of heat. Specific heat of a substance sometimes changes, often substantially, depending on the starting temperature of the sample and the pressure p applied to it. Therefore, it should be considered to be a function of these two variables.
The equation of specific heat capacity is given by,
$c=\dfrac{C}{M}=\dfrac{1}{M}\dfrac{dQ}{dT}$
Where $C$ is the heat capacity.
However, specific heat capacity is dependable on the starting temperature and pressure and can be sometimes ignored in practical contexts. Specific heat is an intensive characteristic of a substance. An intrinsic characteristic means something that does not depend upon the size or shape of the quantity in consideration. The term specific in front of any extrinsic property indicates it is an intrinsic property now.

The SI unit of specific heat capacity is given as $Jk{{g}^{-1}}{{K}^{-1}}$.

Note: Water is having high heat capacity. It is a property due to hydrogen bonding among water molecules. Specific heat is known as the quantity of heat one gram of a substance should absorb or lose to vary its temperature by one degree Celsius.