Question

Don't really understand this question and why there is specific heat...

A student claims that since water has a high specific heat, areas near the ocean are always colder than areas away from the ocean. Do you agree with his reasoning? Explain your position.

Answer 1

anyone?

Answer 2

Specific heat is the amount of energy per unit mass required to raise the temperature by 1°C. Water has a higher specific heat than air, so it takes more heat to raise the temperature of water than for air. The theory only makes sense when the temperature on land is higher than the water temperature, which isn't always true. When the land temperature is lower, heat will flow from water to land. Because water has such a high specific heat, the temperatures near the ocean will vary less than it will away. So near the ocean there isn't the wild temperature swings that happen in some places inland.