Should specific heat capacity be defined as "the numerical value of the quantity of heat..." or simply the "quantity of heat"?

Question

Sorry for this vague question but I'd just like to ask a question that my teachers weren't able to give a really satisfactory answer to.

In my notes the specific heat capacity is defined with the statement: "the numerical value of the specific heat capacity of a substance is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of unit mass of the substance by one degree.". However, I am unsure why the "numerical value" is emphasised so much. The definitions that I've seen for specific heat capacity up to this point all only mention the part about how it is "the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of unit mass of the substance by one degree", leaving it out entirely.

Is this extra clarification necessary? Is it part of some more formal definition of the specific heat capacity?

Answer 1

According to Collins on-line,

A quantity is an amount that you can measure or count.

As such, it is clear that in order to specify the amount, as obtained from counting or measuring, one has to use numerical values.

Therefore the specification sounds redundant. The only reason I could see to add "the numerical value" is when one would like to stress more its value at one thermodynamic point,than its status of a function of state variables.