Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics:

There is a state function, called temperature which has the symbol T, which has the following relationship to heat, q :

For a schematic of this concept                                         

The zeroth law leads to the general idea of heat capacity.  The symbols Cp and C v are used for this (constant pressure and constant volumn) but for solid there is usually little difference between these two.  Using the relationship at constant volume (and therefore  Cv ) between a change in temperature, Δ T , of a substance and the amount of heat transferred, q,  to this substance is given by:

 q = Cv ΔT

At constant pressure:

q = Cp ΔT


If one uses the concept of a molar heat capacity, Cv or Cp , where the bolding indicates a per mole quantitiy, then for a simple compound one may write:

 q = n Cv ΔT
or
 q = n Cp ΔT