Specific Heat Calculator

About this calculator

This calculator finds heat energy using Q = mcΔT — mass times the material's specific heat capacity times the change in temperature — the standard formula for how much energy it takes to heat or cool a substance by a given amount, in either direction.

Chemistry students use it in calorimetry lab problems to find heat released or absorbed in a reaction, engineers use it to size heaters, boilers, or cooling systems, and it's the same reasoning cooks apply, less formally, when noting that water takes far more heat to warm than oil because of water's high specific heat capacity.