What is the scientific term for the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a specific amount of material?

• A. Latent heat
• B. Specific heat
• C. Thermal conductivity
• D. Heat capacity

Answer: (B)

The main idea is how much heat is needed to raise the temperature of a given amount of material. The term that expresses this per unit mass is the specific heat capacity. It tells you how much heat is required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of the substance by 1 degree. The relationship is Q = m c ΔT, where Q is the heat added, m is mass, c is the specific heat, and ΔT is the change in temperature. This differs from latent heat, which is the heat needed for a phase change at a constant temperature, and from heat capacity, which is the total heat required to raise the temperature of an entire object by a given amount. Thermal conductivity is about how fast heat flows through a material, not how much heat is needed to change its temperature. So the term that fits best is specific heat.