• Question: Hey scientists is there a link between the mass of water heated and the rise in temprature please may you explain it to me. thank you Joe

    Asked by 0805jchapman to David, James, Mike, Suze, Will on 17 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by shelter.
    • Photo: William Eborall

      William Eborall answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Hi Joe and shelter. There is a link between the mass of water heated and how much that water rises in temperature. It’s called the “heat capacity” of water. It takes about 4.18 joules of energy to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree celcius (or kelvin). So knowing this you can work out how much hotter a specific amount of water would become if you applied a known amount of energy to it.

      By the way that amount of energy is the same as 1 calorie. So when a Kit Kat contains about 100,000 calories of energy (100 kcal) just think how much energy there is in there for your body to use!

    • Photo: Suze Kundu

      Suze Kundu answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Was this a homework question guys?! Cheeky 😉

    • Photo: James Marrow

      James Marrow answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      I agree with Will. Did you know that the heat capacity of water is more than that of earth – that’s why the seas stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer? This is one of the reasons why we have cooler summers and warmer winters in the UK than on the continent.

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