Measurement of Temperature

Temperature is the degree or intensity of heat present in a substance or object. It is the

measure of the internal (potential + kinetic) energy of the molecules.

To measure temperature, we need a physical property that changes with temperature. These
are thermal expansion, pressure, resistance, voltage, colour, pressure. A thermometer is used
to measure temperature.

1. Liquid-in-glass thermometer
It is either filled with mercury or alcohol.
The mercury or alcohol expands when it feels the heat. It rises up the capillary tube and the
temperature is read on the scale in the stem.

A physical property that changes evenly over a wide range of temperature must be chosen
when making a thermometer.

Properties of Alcohol and Mercury

Alcohol
 Not poisonous
 Expands six times more than mercury
 Not a good conductor of heat (so it
reacts slowly to changes in temp.
 Melts at -115 ˚C and boils at 78 ˚C. Is
best used to measure low temp.
Mercury
 Poisonous
 does not expand as much as alcohol
 Good conductor of heat (so reacts quickly
to changes in temp.
 Its melting point is -39˚C and boils at 357
˚C therefore good for higher temps.

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FIXED POINTS
These are standard reproducible temperature points used to define temperature scale.

Fixed points in liquid-in-glass thermometer

To calibrate a thermometer, the fixed points have to be identified. These are the lower fixed
point and the upper fixed point.

Lower fixed point

The lower fixed point is the temperature of pure melting ice at normal pressure.
Put the bulb of the thermometer in pure melting crushed ice. Allow the mercury to stabilize and
mark the point reached by mercury thread as 0°C.

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Upper fixed point
Put the bulb in steam of boiling water at standard temperature and pressure. Mark the level
reached by the mercury thread as 100 °C. Also an instrument called a hypsometer can be used
to determine the upper fixed point.

A hypsometer used to determine the upper fixed point

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The space between the fixed points is divided into 100 equal divisions.

Laboratory Thermometer

A laboratory thermometer uses either coloured alcohol or mercury.

A thermometer can be made more sensitive (responds quicker to changes in temperature) by

making the following changes
(i) Making the bulb wall thin
(ii) Making the bore or capillary tube narrow
(iii) Increasing the size of the bulb

Clinical Thermometer

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This a special type of a thermometer designed to measure body temperature of a human being.
It has some special features:

(a) Bore/Capillary tube: the bore is very thin so that a small expansion moves the reading a
long way.

(b) Short scale/range: it is limited from 35°C to 42°C which covers normal body temperature.

(c) Bulb: thin bulb is to allow heat to flow quickly into the mercury.

(d) Triangular cross-section: the front part acts as a magnifier to make mercury more visible or
appear wider.

(e) Constriction: prevents back flow of mercury when the thermometer is removed from the
patient.

2. Thermocouple thermometer

The thermocouple measures temperature by using the change in the electromotive

(e.m.f). It is suitable for measuring high temperature because it uses metals in the probes
and is also sensitive since it measures small temperature. It has two junctions; one at a
constant temperature and the other end used to measure the unknown temperature.

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Advantages of A Thermocouple Thermometer

A thermocouple thermometer
 Can measure temperature of small objects like insects
 Has a high temperature range
 Can measure rapidly changing temperatures
 can be used to measure temperatures in difficult locations or environment like nuclear
reactor or temperature of molten lava.

BOILING AND EVAPORATION

The two processes involve a change of state from liquid form to gaseous form, but they are not
the same.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOILING AND EVAPORATION

EVAPORATION BOILING

-Takes place at any temperature -takes place at definite temperature

-Takes place at the surface of a liquid -Takes place within liquid

-No bubbles formed -Bubbles are formed

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 Energy is supplied by the surroundings Energy is supplied by the source

Cooling curve

The graph below shows temperature against time for a gaseous substance cooled until it
solidifies.

First the gas cools and its temperature drops until it reaches the condensation point.
The gas condenses at a constant temperature losing latent heat of vaporisation.

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After condensing the temperature of the liquid formed will drop until it reaches the melting
point.
At this point the liquid freezes at a constant temperature. Bonds are created to hold molecules
together as the liquid loses latent heat of fusion.

Note: During change of state there is no change in temperature even though energy is
released or absorbed by the substance.

Heating curve

The graph below shows temperature against time for water as a solid (ice) heated until it
vaporises.

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The ice is heated until it melts at a constant temperature. After melting the temperature of
water formed increases until it reaches the boiling point if heat is supplied continuously. The
water boils at a constant temperature and vaporises during that process. Until the whole water
has been converted to steam that’s when the temperature of the steam will start to increase.

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