The specific heat capacity is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a material by 1 degree Celsius. For 1 gram of a substance, the specific heat capacity is the amount of heat that has to be applied to the substance to see a temperature increase of 1 degree Celsius. Notice that, the specific heat capacity for 1 gram can also be defined as the amount of heat 1 gram of that substance has to loose in order for it's temperature to drop by 1 degree Celsius.