Using specific heat capacity

The degree to which addition or removal of heat from a system results in a temperature change depends on the heat capacity in J °C^–1 (or J K^–1) of the system.  Systems may contain multiple objects of different heat capacities, for example a beaker and a stirrer.

Specific heat capacity is the heat capacity of 1 gram of a specific substance.  The unit of specific heat capacity is J g^–1 °C^–1 (or J g^–1 K^–1).

For a particular substance, heat (q), mass  (m), specific heat capacity (c) and temperature change (ΔT) are related mathematically as shown below.  Note that the units combine so that the unit of heat (q) is J.
 
q can be either positive or negative because ΔT may be positive or negative (the temperature may go up or go down). 

If q is the same, a substance with a smaller specific heat capacity will have a larger temperature change.