Give reasons for the following:
Sand gets heated up faster than water and water gets heated up faster than air.
Dear Student,
Sand gets heated up faster than water because sand has low specific heat capacity, while specific heat capacity of water is high. Specific heat capacity of a substance is its ability to retain heat. Water needs to absorb a lot of energy before its temperature changes. Sand, on the other hand, have lower specific heat i.e. its temperature change more quickly.
The second part of your question need correction, your question is "water gets heated up faster than air". But it should be, give reason why air gets heated up faster than water.
The correction is needed because the heat capacity of water is higher than air so, air get heated up faster than water. Water has one of the highest specific heats among common substances, about 4182 J/(K kg). So in both cases, water will heat up later than the given substances due to its specific heat.
Regards
Sand gets heated up faster than water because sand has low specific heat capacity, while specific heat capacity of water is high. Specific heat capacity of a substance is its ability to retain heat. Water needs to absorb a lot of energy before its temperature changes. Sand, on the other hand, have lower specific heat i.e. its temperature change more quickly.
The second part of your question need correction, your question is "water gets heated up faster than air". But it should be, give reason why air gets heated up faster than water.
The correction is needed because the heat capacity of water is higher than air so, air get heated up faster than water. Water has one of the highest specific heats among common substances, about 4182 J/(K kg). So in both cases, water will heat up later than the given substances due to its specific heat.
Regards