Final answer:
Different materials absorb heat at different rates because they have varying specific heats, leading to different temperature changes when exposed to the same amount of heat. Water, with a high specific heat, will show a smaller temperature change, while metals with lower specific heats, like steel and mercury, will show larger changes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Different materials absorb heat at different rates due to their varying specific heats, which is the amount of heat required to change the temperature of one kilogram of a substance by one degree Celsius. When the same amount of heat is applied to identical masses of different substances, we will observe different temperature changes. For instance, if we transfer 1.00 kcal of heat into 1.00 kg of substances such as water, concrete, steel, and mercury, each originally at 20.0°C, they will not all reach the same final temperature because of their unique specific heats.
Water, which has a high specific heat, will show a smaller temperature change compared to metals like steel and mercury. This property of water makes it an excellent thermal insulator, as it can absorb or release significant amounts of heat with little change in its own temperature. In contrast, metal materials such as steel and mercury, which have lower specific heats, will experience larger temperature changes and are good heat conductors.
In practical applications, the specific heat of materials is important in various scenarios, such as insulation in building construction or the manufacture of cooking utensils. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of materials, which refers to how quickly they can transfer heat, also has a significant impact on their temperature changes and how they are used in real applications, such as in thermometers or heat sinks.