Thermal Expansion in Solids

Try these questions

5 questions from this lesson’s quiz. Start the lesson to answer them and see the right answers.

1. 1. Which statement best explains why a solid expands when it is heated?

   • A. The atoms themselves become larger in diameter.
   • B. The atoms vibrate with greater amplitude, so the mean separation between them increases.
   • C. More atoms are formed inside the solid.
   • D. The atoms stop vibrating and move apart.

2. 2. A copper wire is 50 m long at 15 °C. It is heated to 40 °C. Calculate its elongation. (Linear expansivity of copper = 1.7 × 10^{-5} K^{-1})

   Type your answer (in m) in the lesson.

3. 3. What name is given to the fractional increase in length of a material per unit rise in temperature?

   Type your answer in the lesson.

4. 4. A brass ball fits through a brass ring at room temperature. After the ball is heated over a flame, it cannot pass through the ring. What should be done so that it passes through again?

   • A. Heat the ball for longer.
   • B. Cool the ball in cold water so that it contracts.
   • C. Heat the ring only.
   • D. Hammer the ball until it is smaller.

5. 5. Why do engineers leave expansion gaps filled with flexible bitumen between concrete slabs on highways and bridges in Kenya?

   • A. To make the road surface look neater.
   • B. To allow the concrete to expand on hot days without cracking or buckling.
   • C. To make the concrete expand more.
   • D. To make the slabs contract more at night.

More in Temperature and Thermal Expansion

• ▸Practical Material Testing
• ▸Concept of Temperature and Temperature Scales
• ▸Liquid Expansion and Mechanical Thermometers
• ▸Electrical Temperature Sensing
• ▸Engineering Applications and Consequences of Solid Expansion
• ▸Thermal Expansion of Liquids
• ▸Anomalous Expansion of Water
• ▸Thermal Expansion of Gases

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