Is the specific heat of water 1.00 cal/g Celsius or 1.00 cal/g K ? I keep getting different answers online.?

Question

Is the specific heat of water 1.00 cal/g Celsius or 1.00 cal/g K ? I keep getting different answers online.?

Answer 1

There is no difference in saying 1.00cal/gram °C or 1cal/gram K  . In reality if you think about it, if a body has increased its temperature by 1°C it has also increased its temperature by 1K.

As a note of interest, I am surprised that you are still using cal in your heat studies instead of the correct SI unit which is the Joule

Answer 2

The interval size of a Celsius degree and  a Kelvin degree is the same

So it doesn't matter when defining specific heat

Answer 3

When you convert degrees Celsius to degrees Kelvin (K), you add 273.

So an actual  temperature in degrees Celsius looks very different from the same temperature expressed in degrees Kelvin.

However, a CHANGE of 1 degree Celsius  IS THE  SAME as a CHANGE of 1 degree Kelvin.

The specific heat of a substance refers to a change of 1 degree, and whether its Celsius or Kelvin  makes no difference. - the two specific heats in your question mean the same thing.

Of course,  if we used the Fahrenheit scale, that would be different.

Answer 4

Technically, it is deg K.  But in computations, only the temperature differences are used, and then there is no difference between ºK and ºC.