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Difficulty: MediumHeat Capacity and Specific Heat Capacity

The specific heat capacity of a physical body increases proportionally with its mass, whereas its total heat capacity remains constant for any quantity of a given material.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is False. Specific heat capacity is an intensive property independent of mass, whereas heat capacity is an extensive property that depends directly on mass.
The statement is false because specific heat capacity (cc) is an intensive property that remains constant regardless of mass, while heat capacity (CC) is an extensive property that increases directly with the mass of the object.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Recall the mathematical definitions of heat capacity and specific heat capacity
Heat capacity C=QΔT=mcC = \frac{Q}{\Delta T} = mc, whereas specific heat capacity c=QmΔTc = \frac{Q}{m\Delta T}.
Establishing the functional dependence of both thermal quantities on mass.
2
Compare intensive and extensive classifications
Specific heat capacity cc is normalized per unit mass (J kg−1 K−1\text{J kg}^{-1}\text{ K}^{-1}) and is independent of mass. Heat capacity CC (J K−1\text{J K}^{-1}) scales directly with mass mm.
The statement falsely reverses which quantity depends on mass.

Key Concept

Distinguishing between extensive (heat capacity) and intensive (specific heat capacity) thermal properties
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Heat Capacity and Specific Heat Capacity

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