Chemistry - A Modern Course. Handbook for Chemical Technicians. To determine the specific heats of some materials and to relate them to atomic composition. Introduction Energy can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created nor destroyed. Energy is conserved.
Heat is a form of energy called thermal energy.
Also different materials have different abilities, or capacities, to hold heat energy. In comparing two materials of the same mass, the material that requires the transfer of more heat to change its temperature by a given amount has the higher specific heat, because more heat will be transferred per gram. In thermodynamics, heat loss is designated with a negative sign while heat gain is positive. You will then transfer each material in turn to a beaker containing water at a known, lower temperature and of a known mass . The highest temperature reached after you have transferred the material into the water can be taken as the temperature at which thermal equilibrium has been achieved.