What does the term 'specific heat' refer to?

The term 'specific heat' refers to the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a substance by a certain amount, typically one degree Celsius. This property is essential in understanding how different materials absorb and retain heat. Each substance has a unique specific heat capacity, which means that some materials require more energy to change their temperature compared to others. This property plays a crucial role in various scientific and practical applications, such as in cooking, climate science, and materials engineering, where knowing how much energy is needed to heat or cool a substance is vital.

The other options present different concepts related to heat but do not accurately define 'specific heat.' For instance, while the measure of heat transfer is fundamental in thermodynamics, it does not specifically describe the energy required for temperature change in a substance. Similarly, the resistance to heat flow refers more to thermal conductivity than specific heat, and the total heat within a closed system pertains to the concept of internal energy rather than the specific energy needed for temperature alterations.