Grade 10 Physics · Strand 1: Mechanics and Thermal Physics · Temperature and Thermal Expansion
Liquid Expansion and Mechanical Thermometers
A short Grade 10 Physics lesson for the CBE curriculum, part of Mechanics and Thermal Physics: Temperature and Thermal Expansion. Learn it on any phone with notes and slides, then check yourself with a quick quiz and earn XP. This lesson is free.
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5 questions from this lesson’s quiz. Start the lesson to answer them and see the right answers.
1. Why does a clinical thermometer have a narrow constriction just above its bulb?
- A. To make the glass stronger so it does not break
- B. To break the liquid thread so the reading stays until the thermometer is shaken
- C. To let the liquid expand more quickly when heated
- D. To increase the range of the thermometer to 110 °C
2. A weather station is set up in a very cold place where temperatures fall to -60 °C. Which thermometric liquid should be used, and why?
- A. Mercury, because it freezes at -39 °C
- B. Mercury, because it boils at 357 °C
- C. Alcohol, because it freezes at -115 °C
- D. Alcohol, because it boils at 78 °C
3. A bimetallic strip is made of brass and iron joined firmly together. Brass expands more than iron for the same temperature rise. What happens when the strip is heated?
- A. It stays straight because both metals are joined
- B. It bends with the brass on the outside of the curve, so it curves towards the iron
- C. It bends with the brass on the inside of the curve, so it curves towards the brass
- D. It becomes shorter because both metals contract
4. A laboratory thermometer in a classroom in Nakuru reads 25 °C. Express this temperature in kelvin, using T = θ + 273.15.
Type your answer (in K) in the lesson.
5. What name is given to a strip made of two different metals welded or riveted firmly together, which bends when its temperature changes?
Type your answer in the lesson.
More in Temperature and Thermal Expansion
- Stress Strain Curves and Material Failure
- Industrial Applications of Material Properties
- Practical Material Testing
- Concept of Temperature and Temperature Scales
- Electrical Temperature Sensing
- Thermal Expansion in Solids
- Engineering Applications and Consequences of Solid Expansion
- Thermal Expansion of Liquids
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