Resistance to change in temperature?

[davetheant]

I was wondering, after looking at a pot of hot water today, whether a large amount of hot water has more resistance to change in temperature than a small pot of water. I thought maybe liquids had a sort of inertia when it comes to temperature; maybe a larger amount could stay hot for longer than a smaller amount. Is this true? And if so, is there an equation that someone could give me? Thanks.

 

[ZapperZ]

I was wondering, after looking at a pot of hot water today, whether a large amount of hot water has more resistance to change in temperature than a small pot of water. I thought maybe liquids had a sort of inertia when it comes to temperature; maybe a larger amount could stay hot for longer than a smaller amount. Is this true? And if so, is there an equation that someone could give me? Thanks.

Look at the definitions (in words) of "heat capacity" and "specific heat capacity".

Zz.

 

[Crusoe]

All substances have a "specific heat capacity", which is a measure of the material's capacity to store heat. This is sometimes described as "thermal mass", a useful but not entirely accurate analogy. For example, water has a higher specific heat capacity than air.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_heat_capacity

The total heat stored in an object is proportional to the quantity of it; so the amount of heat stored in 1kg of water is half that of 2kg of water.

 

[davetheant]

thanks a lot guys