The amount of energy stored in or released from a system as its temperature changes can be calculated using the equation: change in thermal energy = mass × specific heat capacity × temperature change, ∆E = m c ∆θ (change in thermal energy, ∆E, in joules, J; mass, m, in kilograms, kg; specific heat capacity, c, in joules per kilogram per degree Celsius, J/kg °C; temperature change, ∆θ, in degrees Celsius, °C). • The specific heat capacity of a substance is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of the substance by one degree Celsius. • Required practical activity 1: investigation to determine the specific heat capacity of one or more materials. The investigation will involve linking the decrease of one energy store (or work done) to the increase in temperature and subsequent increase in thermal energy stored.