What does 'specific heat' measure?

Specific heat refers to the amount of heat energy that is required to raise the temperature of a specific mass of a substance by one degree Celsius (or one Kelvin). This concept is vital in understanding how substances respond to heat, influencing processes such as heating, cooling, and thermal regulation in biological systems.

When a substance has a high specific heat, it requires a substantial amount of heat energy to experience a change in temperature, making it resistant to temperature fluctuations. This property is especially significant in water, which has a high specific heat value, contributing to its role as a stabilizer of environmental temperatures and affecting climate and weather patterns.

The other options relate to different thermal properties or processes. For instance, one option discusses the energy needed to vaporize a substance, which pertains to latent heat rather than specific heat. Another choice refers to energy released during a reaction, focusing on exothermic or endothermic reactions, while another deals with heat transfer through conduction, which describes how heat moves through materials but does not directly measure heat capacity. Each of these concepts is important but differs from the specific heat measurement itself.