PHYSICS HEAT

Heat
Heat and Temperature

Temperature of a body is the degree of hotness or coldness of the body.

Thermal equilibrium of a body denotes a state of a body, where it neither receives nor releases heat
energy.
Bodies in contact achieve thermal equilibrium due to the transfer of heat energy.
Heat is a form of energy that flows from a body at a higher temperature to a body at a lower
temperature.
Temperature is a measure of thermal equilibrium.
If two different systems A and B (thermal contact) are in thermal equilibrium individually with another
system C, then the systems A and B are in thermal equilibrium with each other.
The S.I. unit of heat is Joule (J) and C.G.S. unit is calorie.
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree celsius is
measured in the unit called calorie.
1 calorie = 4.186 Joules
The S.I. unit of temperature is Kelvin (K), where 0 C 273 K .
Temperature in Kelvin = 273 + Temperature in degree celsius.
Temperature measured in the Kelvin scale is called absolute temperature.

Temperature and Kinetic Energy

The average kinetic energy of the molecules of a hotter body is greater than that of a colder body.
The average kinetic energy of the molecules is directly proportional to the absolute temperature.

Difference between Heat and Temperature

Heat is the energy that flows from a hotter to colder body.
Temperature is the quantity that denotes which body is hotter and which is colder; it determines the
direction of heat (energy) flow.

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 PHYSICS HEAT

Specific Heat

Specific heat of a substance is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of unit mass of
the substance by one unit.
Specific heat of a substance,
Q
S
mT
where 'Q' is the amount heat required,
'm' mass of the substance and
' T' temperature change
The S.I. unit of specific heat is J kg-1 K-1.
1 cal / g C = 4.2 103 J kg-1 K-1.
The total energy of a system, sum of kinetic energy due to motion of molecules and potential energy
due to molecular attractive forces is called the internal energy of a system.
The rise in temperature is high for a substance if more of heat energy is used for increasing its kinetic
energy.
As the rise in temperature depends on the nature of substance, specific heat of a substance depends
on the nature of substance.

Applications of Specific Heat Capacity

Helps to moderate the climates in parts of the Earth that are far from the Equator.
Water melon having relatively larger water quantity retains coolness for a longer time than any other
fruit when taken out of refrigerator due to high specific heat of water.
The high specific heat of curry inside a samosa makes its outer portion cooler than its inner portion.

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 PHYSICS HEAT

Principle of Method of Mixtures

When two or more bodies at different temperatures are brought into thermal contact, the net heat lost
by the hot bodies is equal to net heat gained by the cold bodies, until they attain thermal equilibrium.
Net heat lost = Net heat gained.

Determination of Specific heat of a solid

Specific heat of a solid can be determined from the specific heats of the calorimeter and water, and is
given by

Ss =
m1Sc (m2 m1 )Sw (T3 T1 )
(m3 m2 )(T2 T3 )

Where m1 mass of the calorimeter

m2 mass of calorimeter plus water
m3 mass of calorimeter along with contents
T1 - Temperature of water in calorimeter
S w Specific heat of water
Sc Specific heat of calorimeter
Ss Specific heat of solid

Evaporation

The process of molecules escaping from the surface of a liquid at any temperature is called
evaporation.
Evaporation is a surface phenomenon and it can be defined as the change of phase from liquid to
gas that occurs at the surface of liquid.
Molecules of liquid are in random motion and they collide with each other during which they transfer
energy to other molecules.
During the collision of molecules inside the liquid with that at the surface, the surface molecules
acquire energy to fly away from its surface. This causes evaporation of liquid.
The temperature of a system falls during evaporation.
Evaporation is a cooling process.
The rate of evaporation of a liquid depends on its surface area, temperature and amount of vapour
already present in the air around.

Condensation

Condensation is the phase change from gas to liquid.

It is a process that is reverse of evaporation and is a warming process.

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 PHYSICS HEAT

Humidity

The vapour molecules present in air due to the evaporation of water from surfaces of rivers, lakes and
ponds make the atmosphere humid.
The amount of water vapour present in air is called humidity.

Dew and Fog

The water droplets on surfaces of window-panes, flowers and grass due to the condensation of air
near them when they are saturated with vapour is called dew.
When the temperature falls, the water molecules present in the vapour condenses on the dust
particles in air to form small droplets of water.
The thick mist formed when the water droplets float in the air that reduces visibility is called fog.

Boiling

Boiling is the process in which the liquid phase changes to gaseous phase at a constant temperature
at a given pressure.
The temperature at which boiling takes place is called boiling point of the liquid.
Evaporation takes place at any temperature, while boiling occurs at a definite temperature (boiling
point).
Temperature of the liquid cannot be raised further when the boiling process starts.
At the boiling point, the temperature of liquid remains constant until all of the liquid has been boiled.
The heat energy required to change the state of water from liquid to vapour (gas) state is called the
latent heat of vaporization.
The latent heat of vaporization of a liquid, L is given by
Q
L where 'm' is the mass of liquid
m
'Q' - heat energy required
The S.I. unit of latent heat of vaporization is J/ kg.
At constant atmospheric pressure (1 atm),
o The boiling point of water is 100C or 373 K.
o Latent heat of vaporization of water is 540 cal / gm.

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 PHYSICS HEAT

Melting

The process in which the solid phase changes to liquid phase at a constant temperature is called
melting.
When heat energy is supplied to ice, the rise in its internal energy weakens and breaks the bond
between the ice molecules converting them to liquid phase.
The constant temperature at which the melting occurs is called melting point.
The heat energy required to convert 1 g of solid completely into liquid at a constant temperature is
called latent heat of fusion.
The latent heat of fusion L is given by
Q
L where 'm' is the mass of solid
m
'Q' - heat energy required
The melting point of ice is 0C /273 K and latent heat of fusion of ice is 80 cal/gm.

Freezing

The process in which the substance in liquid phase changes to solid phase by losing some of its
energy is called freezing.
During the conversion process, the internal energy of water decreases so that it becomes a solid ice.
Freezing of water takes place at 0C and at 1 atmospheric pressure.
Water increases in volume (expands) during freezing.
Density of ice is less than that of water, and hence, ice floats on water.

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