Enter the specific heat, change in temperature, and mass into the calculator to determine the total amount of heat absorbed.

Heat Absorbtion Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the total amount of heat energy absorbed by a mass.

Q = m*C*ΔT
  • Where Q is the total amount of heat energy absorbed by a mass
  • m is the mass
  • C is the specific heat of the material
  • ΔT is the change in temperature

To calculate a heat absorption, multiply the mass by the the change in temperature, then finally multiply again by the specific heat.

This formula is also used for heat loss calculations, but the difference, in this case, is that the final temperature will be higher than the initial temperature.

Therefore, the formula for the change in temperature would be T2-T1 instead of T1-T2 in the case of cooling.

What is head absorption?

Heat absorption is the process of a material increasing in temperature due to it taking energy for a higher temperature material or solution.

The methods of heat transfer include conduction, convection, and radiation.

Example Problem

How to calculate heat absorption?

First, determine the total mass of the object or solution that is absorbing the heat.

For this example problem, the total mass of the solution is found to be 50kg.

Next, determine the specific heat of the material.

In this case, the specific heat is found to be 400 J/kg-C.

Next, determine the total change in temperature. The initial temperature is 20 C and the final temperature is 60C. Therefore the change in temperature is calculated to be 60C-20C = 40C.

Finally, calculate the total amount of heat absorbed using the formula above:

Q = m*C*ΔT

Q = 50*400*40

Q = 800,000 J.