If you wanted to know how much the temperature of a particular piece of material would rise when a known amount of heat was added to it, which of the following quantities would be most helpful to know? a. coefficient of linear expansion
b. specific heat
c. initial temperature
d. thermal conductivity
e. density

Option (b) is correct.

Explanation:

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of substance of mass 1 kg by 1 degree C, is called specific heat of the substance.

The formula of the specific heat is

H = m c (T' - T)

where, m is the mass, c is the specific heat and T' - T is the change in temperature.

So, to know the rise in temperature, by adding the known amount of heat, the specific heat is required.

So, option (b) is correct.