Calorimetry, specific heat, and thermochemical equations

The heat absorbed or released when a substance changes temperature is calculated with q = mc(delta T): heat equals mass times specific heat times the change in temperature. Specific heat is the energy needed to raise one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius; water's is high, about 4.18 joules per gram per degree Celsius, which is why water heats and cools slowly. A calorimeter measures the heat of a reaction or process by tracking the temperature change of a known mass of water around it, using the idea that heat lost by one part of the system equals heat gained by the other. Thermochemical equations show this energy change as delta H: a negative delta H means the reaction releases heat (exothermic), and a positive delta H means it absorbs heat (endothermic).

This explanation is AI-generated and can occasionally be wrong. 🚩 Report