List of figures:

Page:

1- Introduction .

2- Heat capacity or Thermal capacity .

3- Heat Capacity at Constant Pressure .

4- The principal specific heat capacities of a gas .

4&5

5- Conclusion .

6- References .

Introduction:
For solids and liquids we define the specific heat capacity as the quantity of energy that will raise
the temperature of unit mass of the body by 1 K. For gases, however, it is necessary to specify the
conditions under which the change of temperature takes place, since a change of temperature will
also produce large changes in pressure and volume.
For solids and liquids we can neglect this pressure change and the specific heat capacity that we
measure for them is essentially one where the pressure on the body is unaltered. We call this the
specific heat capacity at constant pressure (CP).

Heat capacity or thermal capacity:

is a measurable physical quantity equal to the ratio of the heat added to (or removed from) an
object to the resulting temperature change.[1] The SI unit of heat capacity is joule per kelvin
the dimensional form isL2MT21. Specific heat is the amount of heat needed to raise the
temperature of a certain mass by 1 degree Celsius.

and

Heat capacity is an extensive property of matter, meaning it is proportional to the size of the
system. When expressing the same phenomenon as an intensive property, the heat capacity is
divided by the amount of substance, mass, or volume, so that the quantity is independent of the size
or extent of the sample. The molar heat capacity is the heat capacity per unit amount (SI unit:mole)
of a pure substance and the specific heat capacity, often simply called specific heat, is the heat
capacity per unit mass of a material. Occasionally, in engineering contexts, the volumetric heat
capacity is used.

Temperature reflects the average randomized kinetic energy of constituent particles of matter (e.g.
atoms or molecules) relative to the centre of mass of the system, while heat is the transfer of energy
across a system boundary into the body other than by work or matter transfer. Translation, rotation,
and vibration of atoms represent the degrees of freedom of motion which classically contribute to
the heat capacity of gases, while only vibrations are needed to describe the heat capacities of most
solids[2] , as shown by theDulongPetit law. Other, more exotic contributions can come from
magnetic[3] and electronic[4] degrees of freedom in solids, but these rarely make substantial
contributions.

For quantum mechanical reasons, at any given temperature, some of these degrees of freedom may
be unavailable, or only partially available, to store thermal energy. In such cases, the specific heat
capacity is a fraction of the maximum. As the temperature approaches absolute zero, the specific
heat capacity of a system approaches zero, due to loss of available degrees of freedom. Quantum
theory can be used to quantitatively predict the specific heat capacity of simple systems.

Heat Capacity at Constant Pressure:

For an ideal gas at constant pressure, it takes more heat to achieve the same temperature change
than it does at constant volume. At constant volume all the heat added goes into raising the
temperature. At constant pressure some of the heat goes to doing work.
Q = nCPT
For an ideal gas, applying the First Law of Thermodynamics tells us that heat is also equal to:
Q = Eint + W
At constant pressure W = PV = nRT
For a monatomic ideal gas, where Eint = (3/2)nRT, we get:
Q = (3/2)nRT + nRT = (5/2)nRT
So, for a monatomic ideal gas:
CP = (5/2)R
For diatomic and polyatomic ideal gases we get:
diaatomic: CP = (7/2)R
polyatomic: CP = 4R

The principal specific heat capacities of a gas:

The specific heat capacity of a gas will depend on the conditions under which it is measured and
since these could vary considerably we will restrict ourselves to the following, called the principal
specific heat capacities of a gas:
The specific heat capacity at constant pressure (cp) is defined as the quantity of heat required to
raise the temperature of 1 kg of the gas by 1 K if the pressure of the gas remains constant.
The molar heat capacity at constant pressure (CP) is the quantity of heat required to raise the
temperature of 1 mole of the gas by 1 K if the pressure of the gas remains constant.

The table below gives the principal specific heat capacities for some well-known gases.

Gas

Specific heat capacity at

constant pressure (J kg-1K-1)

Air

714

Argon

314

Carbon dioxide

640

Carbon monoxide

1050

Helium

5240

Hydrogen

14300

Nitrogen

1040

Oxygen

913

Water vapor

2020

Conclusion:

Heat capacity is an extensive property of matter, meaning it is proportional to the size of

the system.

CP = (P0 V0 /T0 ) (U I / P) (t / V) .

The specific heat capacity at constant pressure (cp) is defined as the quantity of heat
required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of the gas by 1 K if the pressure of the gas remains
constant.

References:
1) wikipedia .
2) physics.bu.edu .
3) schoolphysics.co.uk .