# How does the heat capacity of a calorimeter interact with the specific heat capacity of the water inside it?

I saw this basic calorimetry question and it included the heat capacity of the calorimeter (1550 J/°C) but it also included that there were 150 g of water inside the calorimeter as well (4.184 J/(G°C). I saw that in order to calculate the total q, you add q of calorimeter to q of water. I'm having a hard time envisioning why you have to add the two instead of taking only the q of the calorimeter (isn't q of water included in the q of calorimeter?). The question stated that ∆T was equal to +1.211°C.

• No, the heat capacity of the specific calorimeter being used must be determined experimentally. You can look up the heat capacity of water in a table.
– MaxW
Apr 11, 2020 at 2:03
• Think of the calorimeter as the container. Its heat capacity is fixed. Then you add to this the heat capacity of the water, a figure that can vary depending on how much water you've poured into the calorimeter. Apr 11, 2020 at 6:42
• Oh ok, so let’s say that there’s a temperature change, would that temperature change be equal to both the water and the calorimeter? Apr 11, 2020 at 10:09