Question

What does the specific heat for a substance indicate?

Answer 1

An object's heat capacity is determined by both its mass and chemical composition. The swimming pool of water has a far higher heat capacity than the bucket of water due to its much larger mass.

Complete answer: Heat affects different substances in different ways. On a hot day, a metal chair can become very hot to the touch if it sits in direct sunlight. In the same heat, an equivalent mass of water will not become nearly as hot. Water is very immune to temperature changes, whereas metals are not.
The amount of heat energy needed to increase the temperature of a given amount of a material by one degree Celsius is known as specific heat. The symbol used to denote specific heat of any substance is $c$.
Specific heat is determined by the formula given below –
$Q = m \times c \times \Delta t$
Where $Q =$ Amount of heat required
$m =$ Mass in grams
$\Delta t =$Change in temperature
If we rearrange the above formula, then we can get the direct formula to calculate specific heat of any substance. It is given below –
$c = \dfrac{Q}{{m \times \Delta t}}$
Specific heat is measured in joules per gram per degree Celsius $(J.g{m^{ - 1}}.^\circ {C^{ - 1}})$ or calories per gramme per degree Celsius $(Cal.g{m^{ - 1}}.^\circ {C^{ - 1}})$.
The greater the importance of specific heat, the stronger a substance's ability to absorb a large amount of heat energy without undergoing a significant temperature rise.
Specific heat of some common substance is given below –

Substance	Specific heat $(j/{gm}^oC)$
Water (l)	$4.18$
Water (s)	$2.06$
Water (g)	$1.87$
Ammonia	$2.09$
Ethanol	$2.44$
Iron	$0.449$

Note:
Water has a high heat potential of $4.18$ $J.g{m^{ - 1}}.^\circ {C^{ - 1}}$, which is a major factor in how the Earth's lakes and oceans influence climate.