A material's ability to store energy is referred to as what?

The ability of a material to store energy, particularly in the form of heat, is defined as specific heat. This property indicates how much heat energy a material can absorb per unit mass for a given temperature increase. In practical terms, specific heat is crucial when considering how different materials respond to heat during a fire. For instance, materials with high specific heat can absorb more thermal energy without a significant change in temperature, which can influence fire behavior, spreading, and intensity.

Specific conductivity refers to a material's ability to conduct electric current, which is unrelated to heat storage. Thermal energy is a broader term that refers to the total kinetic energy of particles in a substance and does not specifically denote a material's capacity to store heat relative to its mass. The heat transfer rate pertains to how quickly heat moves from one material to another but does not specifically relate to the storage capacity of a material itself. Thus, the definition and implication of specific heat make it the correct answer in the context of heat storage capacity.