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Year 10
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Heating different substances

I can explain how a material’s specific heat capacity describes how easily it is heated or how much energy it transfers as it cools.

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New
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Year 10
Edexcel
Higher

Heating different substances

I can explain how a material’s specific heat capacity describes how easily it is heated or how much energy it transfers as it cools.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Different hot metals, of the same mass and starting temperature, heat a fixed amount of water by different amounts.
  2. The energy a material has because its particles are moving with forces between them can be labelled internal energy.
  3. The larger the specific heat capacity of a material, the more energy transferred to increase its temperature by 1ºC.
  4. The larger the specific heat capacity of a material, the more heating it does as its temperature falls by 1ºC.

Keywords

  • Temperature - a measure of how hot a substance is; it is related to the kinetic energy of the individual particles

  • Specific heat capacity - the change in internal energy when the temperature of 1 kg of the material changes by 1°C

  • Internal energy - the sum of the kinetic energy and potential energy of the particles something is made of

  • Kinetic energy - the energy an object has because of it's motion

  • Potential energy - the energy an object has because of its position and the forces acting on it

Common misconception

Pupils confuse ideas about temperature and energy.

Use examples in different contexts to develop and consolidate ideas about differences between temperature and energy.


To help you plan your year 10 physics lesson on: Heating different substances, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

It is very important to develop a good qualitative understanding of specific heat capacity and internal energy, before introducing calculations. This approach provides pupils with better understanding and leads to improved problem solving later.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the following quantities to the unit it is measured in.
Correct Answer:mass,kilograms
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kilograms

Correct Answer:temperature,degrees Celsius
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degrees Celsius

Correct Answer:energy,joules
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joules

Correct Answer:time,seconds
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seconds

Q2.
Which of the following objects are made from materials that are thermal insulators?
a frying pan
Correct answer: a plastic cup
a steel can
Correct answer: a wooden spoon
Q3.
Complete the statements: Metals are good thermal conductors because they have free which can transfer energy rapidly from one place to another.
Correct Answer: electrons, electron
Q4.
Why is it important to insulate a loft (attic) in a house?
An image in a quiz
Heat rises to the top of a house.
Correct answer: Hot air rises to the top of a house.
The slates in the roof are good thermal conductors.
Insulation provides extra heating.
This is the only place energy can escape from a house.
Q5.
A pupil is investigating the effect of the thickness of wool insulation on the cooling of a hot water bottle. Which of the following is the dependent variable in the experiment?
starting temperature of water
mass of water used
Correct answer: temperature change of water
insulator thickness
type of insulator used
Q6.
A pupil records the temperature of a cooling object every 60 s. The recorded temperatures are: 80°C, 75°C, 71°C, 68°C and 66°C. What conclusions can be made from these results?
Correct answer: The temperature decreases over time.
The temperature increases over time.
The rate of cooling is constant.
The rate of cooling increases over time.
Correct answer: The rate of cooling decreases over time.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the following key words or phrases to their definitions.
Correct Answer:temperature,a measure of how hot or cold a substance is
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a measure of how hot or cold a substance is

Correct Answer:specific heat capacity,change in energy when the temp. of 1 kg of a substance changes by 1°C
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change in energy when the temp. of 1 kg of a substance changes by 1°C

Correct Answer:internal energy,sum of the kinetic and potential energy of particles in a substance
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sum of the kinetic and potential energy of particles in a substance

Correct Answer:kinetic energy,the energy an object or particle has because of its motion
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the energy an object or particle has because of its motion

Correct Answer:potential energy,the energy an object has because of its position and the forces acting
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the energy an object has because of its position and the forces acting

Q2.
Which of the following is the correct unit of specific heat capacity?
joules (J)
joules per kilogram (J/kg)
joules per degree Celsius (J/°C)
Correct answer: joules per kilogram per degree Celsius (J/kg/°C)
kilograms per degree Celsius (kg/°C)
Q3.
Which of the following factors affect the amount of energy transferred to an object when it is heated and its temperature rises?
The starting temperature.
Correct answer: The mass of the object.
Correct answer: The increase in temperature.
Correct answer: The substance the object is made from.
The shape of the object.
Q4.
A heater transfers equal amounts of energy to the same mass of different substances. Starting with the greatest, use the information given to sort them into order of their specific heat capacities.
1 - start temperature: 40°C, end temperature: 45°C
2 - start temperature: 40°C, end temperature: 50°C
3 - start temperature: 20°C, end temperature: 35°C
4 - start temperature: 55°C, end temperature: 75°C
5 - start temperature: 10°C, end temperature: 50°C
Q5.
A block of iron starts at a temperature of –10°C. It is heated, reaching a temperature of 10°C. Which of the following statements are correct?
Correct answer: The average speed of the particles has increased.
The mass of the particles has increased.
Correct answer: The potential energy of the particles has increased.
Correct answer: The kinetic energy of the particles has increased.
The internal energy of the iron has decreased.
Q6.
Water in the liquid state at 100°C turns to water in the gas state at 100°C. Which of the following statements correctly describe what happens?
Correct answer: The internal energy of the water has increased.
The kinetic energy of the water particles has increased.
Correct answer: The potential energy of the water particles has increased.
There has been no change in energy.