What is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by 1 degree Celsius?

The correct answer is the term that refers to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by 1 degree Celsius. This property is crucial in thermodynamics and physical chemistry, as it indicates how much energy is needed to change the temperature of a given material without changing its phase.

Specific heat is vital for understanding energy transfer in heating processes and helps in calculating how different materials will respond to heat. Each substance has its own specific heat value, which allows engineers and scientists to predict how that material will behave when subjected to heat.

Other terms provided in the choices describe different concepts. Latent heat refers to the energy absorbed or released during a phase change without a temperature change, which is not related to temperature elevation of a unit mass. Saturation temperature relates to the temperature at which a substance changes phase at a given pressure, whereas absolute zero is the theoretical lowest temperature possible, where molecular motion would cease. Understanding these distinctions clarifies why specific heat is the appropriate answer in this context.