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How does the temperature increase of different materials depend upon their specific heats?

User Chener
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Final answer:

The temperature increase of materials depends on their specific heats, which is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of material by one degree Celsius. Materials like water with high specific heats absorb more heat energy for the same temperature increase compared to materials with lower specific heats like glass or iron.

Step-by-step explanation:

The temperature increase of different materials depends on their specific heats. Specific heat is the amount of heat required to raise one kilogram of a material by one degree Celsius. Materials with higher specific heats require more heat energy to increase in temperature compared to those with lower specific heats. For example, water has a high specific heat compared to materials like glass or iron, which makes it excellent for applications such as cooling systems or buffers against temperature changes.

When heat is added to a material, it increases the average kinetic energy of its molecules, resulting in a temperature rise. The specific heat can influence how quickly a material reaches a given temperature. For instance, 1.00 kcal of heat will cause different temperature changes in 1.00 kg of water, concrete, steel, and mercury, all originally at 20.0°C, due to their varying specific heats.

User Jamie Taylor
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