Heat & measurement of

Temperature
Physics Notes
GCE Study Buddy
Effects of heat
• Heat is a form of energy. Its SI units is joule, J.
• Expansion:
• Occurs when things are heated.
• Heat energy is gained by the body and results in an increase in
size.
• Contraction: Occurs when things are cooled. Heat
energy is lost by the body and results in a decrease in
size.
Expansion of Solids
• Solids expand when heated
• Different solids expand at different rates
Expansion of liquids
• Liquids expand when
heated.
• When heating water in a
beaker, you will initially
notice a dip in the water
level before the water
level rises.
• Different liquids expand at
different rates.
Expansion of gases
• Gases expand when heated.
• For a same rise in temperature, gas expands more than
liquid, and liquid expands more than solid.
Expansion and contraction of water
• As temperature increases from 4OC to 100 OC, water
expands.
• But from 0OC to 4OC, water contracts, that is, its volume
decreases.
• At 4OC, water has the lowest volume and therefore it has
the highest density (since density = Mass/Volume and mass is
constant).
Expansion problem in solids
• Railway – gaps are left along the rails to allow for
expansion.
• Bridge – one end on the bridge is fixed while a gap is left
at the other end supported by rollers.
• Pavement – small gaps between cement sections are
filled with soft black bitumen.
Expansion problem in liquids and
gases
• Bottles containing liquids are never completely filled. This
allow space for expansion when the surrounding
temperature is higher.
• Aerosol cans carry a warning
- to be stored in cool places.
Application of expansion and
contraction
• Riveting
• Rivets are applied when heated. Once
cooled, they contract and bind the metal
sheets together tightly.

• Bimetallic strip
• Bimetallic strips works on the principle that
different metal expands / contracts at
different rate for the same increase /
decrease in temperature.
Application of bimetallic strip
• Heating element control

• Fire alarm
Application of expansion and
contraction
• Hot air balloons
• Hot air balloons depend on the low
density of the hot air to float.
• The air in the balloon is heated up
which causes its volume to increase.
Therefore the density of the hot air
decreases. As the air in the balloon is
less dense than the surrounding air,
the balloon floats
Temperature, Melting and Boiling
points
• Melting point is the temperature where solid changes to liquid
• Boiling point is the temperature where liquid changes to gas
• Temperature
• is a measure of how hot or cold a body is.
• Temperature of a substance is commonly measured in
degree Celsius (ºC).
• SI unit : Kelvin (K)
• The temperature 0K is called the absolute zero because
there is no other temperature below it
• At 0K, all types of motion of particles in matter will stop and
the kinetic energy is zero
Thermometers
• Thermometers make use of a measurable physical property
that varies with temperature.
• A Thermometer measures temperature in degree Celsius (oC).
• Ice point is the temperature at which pure ice melts at 0OC
• Steam point is the temperature at which pure water boils
under normal conditions at 100OC.
• Liquid-in-glass – clinical thermometer
• Purpose – Measure body temp
• Range : 35oC – 42oC
• A constriction serves to prevent the mercury thread from going back
into the bulb after the thermometer is removed from the mouth.
• Liquid-in-glass – laboratory thermometer
• Purpose – For Laboratory Use
• Range : -10oC – 110oC
Other thermometers
• Resistance
thermometer
• Purpose: Lab use,
resistance of wire changes
with changes in
temperature
• Range: -200°C to 1200°C
• Thermocouple
thermometer
• Purpose: Lab use, strength
of current varies with
temperature
• Range: 100°C to 1100°C
Advantages of thermocouple
thermometer
• The temperature range of a thermocouple depends on the
type of metallic wires used
• Generally, thermometers have a very wide range, from
-200°C to 1700°C
• The junctions have a low heat capacity so that they can
respond quickly to a temperature change
Other thermometers
• Constant volume gas
thermometer
• Pressure of the gas at constant
volume varies with changes in
temperature
• Range: 20 K to 1300 K

• Bimetallic thermometer
• Purpose – Measure hot oven/
molten metal
• Ranges: 0 to 400OC
Other thermometers
• Liquid crystal thermometer
• Chemical changes which bring about colour changes
Calibrating a thermometer
• Calibration means making a scale
• To calibrate a liquid-in-glass thermometer, the following steps
are taken:
1.Mark the lower fixed point, 0°C. The thermometer bulb is
placed in pure melting ice. When the mercury meniscus is
steady, its position is marked as 0°C
2.Mark the upper fixed point, 100°C. The thermometer bulb is
placed in a hypsometer so that it is surrounded by steam from
boiling water at ordinary atmospheric pressure. When the
mercury meniscus is steady, its position is marked as 100°C
3.Divide the fundamental interval. The distance on the stem of
the thermometer between 0°C and 100°C is measured and
divided into 100 equal parts. Each part represents 1°C
Features of the laboratory thermometer
• The round glass of the stem acts as a magnifying glass,
enabling the temperature to be read easily
• The sensitivity of the thermometer can be increased by
• The glass of the bulb can be made thin so that the rate of heat
exchange between the liquid and its surroundings can be
increased
• The narrow bore allows a big change in the length of the mercury
thread when there is a slight change in volume of the liquid in the
bulb
• The bulb is made bigger to increase the volume of liquid stored in
it. This increase in volume leads to greater thermal expansion or
contraction
• Liquids having a large thermal expansion like mercury and alcohol
are used
 Mercury vs Alcohol thermometers
Mercury Alcohol
Silver Colourless, usually dyed red
High thermal conductivity – can respond very Low thermal conductivity – takes a longer time
quickly to temperature changes to reach its surrounding temperature
Uniform expansion as the temperature Non-uniform expansion despite a uniform
increases uniformly increase in temperature
Does not wet glass Wets glass and gives inaccurate readings
Boiling point at 360°C – high upper limit, able Boiling point at 78°C – low upper limit, unable
to measure high temperatures to read high temperatures
Freezing point at -39°C – unable to measure Freezing point at -115°C – able to measure low
low temperatures temperatures
Poisonous liquid Safe liquid
Expensive Cheap
Very dense liquid Light liquid
Small thermal expansion – scale markings on Large thermal expansion – scale markings on
the stem are very close to one anther, making stem are far apart, making reading easy
reading difficult
Properties of clinical thermometer
• A short temperature range, from 35°C to 42°C
• A constriction in the capillary tube just above the bulb
prevents the mercury in the thread from falling back into
the bulb to allow reading
Question
The length of the mercury thread in a thermometer is 2cm
when it is in pure melting ice and 22cm when it is in steam
above boiling water at ordinary atmospheric pressure.
When the thermometer is placed in liquid X, the length of
the mercury thread is 16cm. What is the temperature of the
liquid X?

Solution
If the temperature of the liquid X is m,
m = (14 x 100°C) / 20 = 70°C
Questions
1. Resistance thermometers are normally used to
measure the
a. Boiling point of water
b. Freezing point of water
c. Melting point of metal
d. Boiling point of tap water
2. A liquid-in-glass thermometer is more sensitive if it has
a. shorter length
b. Smaller bulb
c. Thicker walled glass bulb
d. Thinner walled glass bulb