Final answer:
The change in temperature of a 20.94g metal sample when heated depends on its specific heat capacity, rather than its volume, density, mass, or shape. Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat needed to change the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius. It is a critical concept in thermodynamics.
Step-by-step explanation:
The change in temperature of a 20.94g sample of metal when heated depends on its specific heat capacity, which relates the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a substance. The options provided in the question are volume, density, mass, and shape; however, none of these directly determine the change in temperature when a substance is heated. Instead, the specific heat capacity, which is an intrinsic property of the material, determines how much the temperature will change for a given amount of heat energy.
In physics, specific heat capacity is defined as the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius. It is important to note that the mass of the metal sample does have an indirect effect, as the amount of heat required to induce a change in temperature would be proportional to the mass of the sample. However, the mass does not affect the amount of temperature change per unit mass per degree of heat added; that is dictated by the specific heat capacity. This concept is crucial in thermodynamics and energy conversion processes.