What defines the characteristic of specific heat?

Specific heat is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius (or one Kelvin). This characteristic is intrinsic to materials and indicates how much energy a substance can absorb before its temperature changes.

The reason why the option that refers to the temperature change of a substance is correct is that specific heat directly reflects the relationship between heat energy input and the resulting temperature increase in that material. Each substance has its own specific heat capacity, which influences how it responds to the addition or removal of heat.

The other options do not effectively capture the essence of specific heat. Heat transfer without a temperature change pertains more to processes like phase changes (e.g., melting or boiling), which is why it doesn’t define specific heat. The definition concerning phase changes refers to latent heat rather than specific heat. Lastly, measuring the energy in conduction relates to heat transfer mechanisms and not specifically to the capacity of a substance to change temperature in response to the heat energy it absorbs. Therefore, understanding specific heat is crucial in various applications, such as thermodynamics, material science, and engineering, where temperature control and energy efficiency are important.