Heat Transfer Calculator — q = mcΔT

Heating something up takes energy proportional to its mass, its specific heat, and how far the temperature moves. This is the workhorse equation of calorimetry — no phase change involved.

Heat Transfer Calculator — q = mcΔT

$q = mc\Delta T$

Solve for

Mass (m)

Unit

Specific heat capacity (c)

Unit

Temperature change (ΔT)

Unit

Result unit

How to interpret the result

Worked check: warming 100 gram of water by 10 °C takes 100 × 4.184 × 10 = 4184 J. A ΔT in °C and in K are identical, so either unit works here.

Assumptions

No phase change occurs over the temperature range
Specific heat is constant over ΔT
No heat is lost to the surroundings