Heat capacity of water

Question

Can the heat capacity of water be thought big or small? Write the biological importance of that characteristic?

Answer 1

From terminology it is recognized that the quantity of exchanged heat (Q) is equivalent to the mass (m) multiplied by the specific heat of substance (c) multiplied by the variation of temperature (T), Q = m.c.ΔT, and that heat capacity is Q/T, therefore, m.c. Heat capacity, though, associates to a specific body, as it considers mass, while specific heat associates to the common substance. Thus it is more accurate to refer to specific heat in this trouble. Water has a specific heat of 1 cal/g.^oC that means that 1 ^oC per gram is altered in its temperature with the subtraction or addition of 1 cal of energy. This is a much elevated value (for illustration, the specific heat of ethanol is 0.58 cal/g.oC, and mercury, a metal, has a specific heat of 0.033 cal/g. ^oC) forming water an excellent thermal protector against the variations of temperature. Even when sudden external temperature modifies take place, the internal biological situations are kept stable in organisms that contain adequate water. High specific heat is one of the most significant water properties.