HEAT & MEASUREMENT

OF TEMPERATURE
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,
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
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.
air in balloon is heated up
causes its volume to increase.

density of the hot air

decreases.

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 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.
 Thermometers
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
Mercury in glass thermometer
• Mercury is a metal,
• a liquid at room temperature.
• expands when heated
• contracts when cooled.
• moves along the capillary of the thermometer when
the temperature changes.
• does not stick to the glass
• easily seen.
• freezes at –390C and so for temperatures below
this, coloured alcohol is used.
 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:
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

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

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
Calibrating a thermometer
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
Temperature ranges
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
e. shorter length
f. Smaller bulb
g. Thicker walled glass bulb
h. Thinner walled glass bulb