Year 9 Science · Unit 3 · Lesson 9
Challenge Worksheet
Learning Goals
Read the graph
Study the bar chart showing the specific heat capacity of five materials. Then answer the questions below.
(a) Which material in the chart needs the LEAST energy to heat 1 kg by 10 °C? How can you tell from the graph?
(b) Estimate how many times more energy water needs to heat 1 kg by 1 °C compared to copper. Show your working.
(c) A chef is choosing a material for cooking pots. Using the data in the chart, which material would make the best cooking pot and why? Consider both heating speed and practicality.
Evaluate the claim
Someone claims…
"Water's high specific heat capacity is just a coincidence that life happened to exploit. If water had a lower specific heat capacity, life could easily have adapted to cope, and Earth's climate would be roughly the same."
(a) What part of this claim is supported by science? Identify at least one thing the claim gets right about water and life.
(b) Use at least TWO pieces of evidence, one about climate regulation and one about biology, to argue AGAINST the claim that water's high SHC is unimportant.
(c) A scientist says water's high SHC is not a coincidence, it results from water's molecular structure (H₂O with hydrogen bonds). Does knowing the cause make the claim more or less believable? Explain your reasoning.
Wrap Up
In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?