Suppose that several objects composed of different materials are heated in the same manner. Will the objects warm up at equal rates? The answer: most likely not. Different materials would warm up at different rates because each material has its own specific heat capacity. The specific heat capacity refers to the amount of heat required to cause a unit of mass (say a gram or a kilogram) to change its temperature by 1°C. Specific heat capacities of various materials are often listed in textbooks. Standard metric units are Joules/kilogram/Kelvin (J/kg/K). More commonly used units are J/g/°C. Use the widget below to view specific heat capacities of various materials. Simply type in the name of a substance (aluminum, iron, copper, water, methanol, wood, etc.) and click on the Submit button; results will be displayed in a separate window.
