Back Questions on Thermal Expansion

1. The change in length of an object when it undergoes a temperature change is related to a) its original length. b) its mass c) the magnitude of the temperature change. 2. d) both (a) and (c). e) (a) and (b) and (c).

The change in length of an object subjected to a change in temperature directly depends on a) its material of which it is made. b) the original length of the object. c) the change in temperature. d) all of these.

3.

A 10 foot long steel bar and a 100 foot long steel bar (both lengths measured at 70 F) are both remeasured at 100 F. Which of the following statements is true? a) b) c) d) The 100 foot bar and the 10 foot bar will increase in length by the same amount. The 100 foot bar will increase in length more than the 10 foot bar will. The 100 foot bar will increase in length less than the 10 foot bar will. There is not enough information, or, none of the above statements is true.

4.

Consider two steel tapes. Tape A measures 100 feet at 70F whereas tape B measures 200 feet at 70F. If the temperature decreases from 70F to 40F, then a) b) c) d) the length of tape A will decrease more than the length of tape B. the length of tape B will decrease more than the length of tape A. the length of each tape will decrease by the same amount. none of the above.

5.

The fact that different materials have different coefficients of linear expansion can be used to explain a) b) c) d) e) why running hot water over a glass jar with a stuck metal lid will help loosen the lid. how a simple bimetallic thermostat works. convection currents in liquids. (a) and (b) but not (c). (a) and (b) and (c).

6.

The working of a simple thermostat depends on a) thermal expansion. b) the second law of thermodynamics. c) specific heats. d) condensation.

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In a simple model, the unforced rising of hot air can be attributed to a) orographic lifting. b) the low specific heat of air. c) buoyancy. d) steam rising.

8.

The phenomenon of warm air rising can be explained by a) the density of warm air. b) condensation. c) the weight of warm air. d) evaporation.

9.

The phenomenon of cold air settling to the bottom of a room can be explained by a) the weight of cold air. b) the mass of cold air. c) the density of cold air. d) the thermal expansion of water.

10.

The fact that, in general, liquids and gases expand when heated gives rise to a) b) c) d) convection currents in fluids due to changing masses. convection currents in fluids due to changing densities. heat transfer by conduction. convection currents in fluids due to constant temperatures.

11.

The physical property that allows lakes to freeze from the top down involves a) b) c) d) the quantity of salt in water. the anomalous behavior of the expansion of water between 0 C and 4 C. the confinement properties of the boundaries of the lake. the high specific heat of water.

12.

Since water expands instead of contracting as it changes temperature from 4 C to 1 C, a) b) c) d) e) potholes get worse in the winter than they do in the summer. fish can survive in winter. ponds freeze from the top down. (b) and (c) but not (a). (a) and (b) and (c).

13.

When you heat water from 2 C. to 7 C., its density a) first increases, then decreases. b) first decreases, then increases. c) always remains the same. d) always decreases.

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40 cc of liquid water is originally at 2C. If I raise the temperature of the water to 3.5C, the final volume of that sample of water will be closest to (Hints: (1) 40 cc of liquid water is approximately the same volume as a standard ice cube from an ice cube tray; (2) use physics and common sense!) a) 30 cc. b) 41 cc. c) 39 cc. d) 50 cc.

Answer Key: 1. D 8. A 2. D 9. C 3. B 10. B 4. B 11. B 5. D 12. E 6. A 13. A 7. C 14. C

Short Answers 1. How can putting heat into a solid object cause it to expand? The answer: "because objects expand when heated" is by no means sufficient. Hints: think about energy, in particular the differences and similarities between potential and kinetic energies. It might also help to think about springs. Design a bimetallic strip that would allow you to run an air conditioner. Be specific in your explanation as to how it works the way it does. What are the critical design elements? Your explanation should be close (in detail) to the explanation that I gave in class for a thermostat that controls a heater. In multiple choice 4, if the coefficient of linear expansion of steel is 1/8 inch /100 feet /15F, calculate the length of tape A at 40F, and the length of tape B at 100F. (Ans. Change of length of tape A is 1/4 inch; change in length of tape B is 1/2 inch. We talked in class about how convection currents work in a lake. In particular, we showed how a lake can cool from 20C down to 4C using convection currents. After 4C, of course, everything gets a bit tricky, but let's forget that for now. What about a lake warming back up? Let's start with a lake at 4C, and an outside air temperature of 16C. If the air temperature remains at 16C for a long period of time, we might expect that eventually the lake would warm up to 16C. Would it? Why or why not? What method(s) of heat transfer is (are) used to warm the lake? Do they actually succeed in warming the entire lake to 16C? If not, what is the likely temperature at the bottom of the lake? Assume that the lake is deep.

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