Chemistry Regents Practice Test 2025 – Complete Prep Resource

The term "specific heat capacity" refers to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius. This property is fundamental in understanding how different substances respond to heat energy, which is critical in various applications such as calorimetry, thermodynamics, and material science. The unit of specific heat capacity is often expressed in joules per gram per degree Celsius (J/g°C).

Specific heat capacity is a measure of a material's ability to store thermal energy. A substance with a high specific heat capacity can absorb a lot of heat without a significant change in temperature, while a substance with a low specific heat capacity will experience a larger temperature change with the same amount of heat energy. This property explains why water, for example, can moderate temperature changes in the environment, as it requires more energy to increase its temperature compared to many other substances.

The other options refer to different concepts, such as the heat required for temperature change in degrees Fahrenheit, which is not standard for scientific measurement, or the total energy required for phase changes, and energy outputs in exothermic reactions, which are not related to the definition of specific heat capacity.