If, as a pioneer, you wished to warm your room by taking an object heated on top of a pot-bellied stove to it, which of the foll
owing 15-pound objects, each heated to 100°C, would be the best choice? The specific heat capacity (in J/g·K) for each substance is given in parentheses. Iron (0.450), copper (0.387), granite (0.79), gold (0.129), water (4.184).
<em>The specific heat capacity</em> refers to how much energy is required to raise the temperature of an object. The higher the specific heat capacity, the more energy is required to heat a given substance. This would also mean that w<u>ith a higher specific heat capacity, a substance would be able to retain more heat</u>.
With the above statements in mind, water would be the best choice, because it would retain more heat than the other substances once it reaches 100 °C, and in turn water would emit the most heat while it cools.
