This exam focus covers Exam Focus within Specific Heat Capacity for GCSE Physics. Revise Specific Heat Capacity in Energy for GCSE Physics with 15 exam-style questions and 13 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 13 of 15 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
🎯 Exam Focus
Frequently Examined
This topic is examined in Edexcel 1PH0/1 (Paper 1). This is Edexcel Core Practical 4 (CP4): measuring the specific heat capacity of a material. Edexcel questions frequently ask you to describe or evaluate the CP4 method, explain sources of error, and suggest improvements. Specific heat capacity is a required practical topic and appears on most exam papers. Key question types:
- Calculate energy stored or temperature change using ΔE = mcΔθ
- Explain why the experimental SHC is higher than the accepted value
- Explain why water is used in central heating systems (high SHC = stores lots of energy)
- Describe improvements to the practical to make it more accurate
Practical evaluation questions (6 marks) are very common for this topic. Learn: insulate the block, use oil in thermometer hole, wait for thermal equilibrium after switching off.
Practice questions for Specific Heat Capacity
What does the specific heat capacity of a substance measure?
Water has a specific heat capacity of 4200 J/kg°C, much higher than most other common substances. Explain why this makes water useful in central heating systems.