CHAPTER 10

‘THERMAL PROPERTIES
OF MATTER’

PREPARED BY: S. M. NAYEEM

LECTURE # 1
 THERMAL EXPANSION
• Most substances expand due to rise in
temperature.
• Thermal expansion happens because
particles gain energy when heated and
move faster, pushing each other apart.
• Thermal expansion is defined as the
increase in volume of a material when its
temperature rises.
 EXPANSION OF MATERIALS
SOLIDS, LIQUIDS & GASES
• Thermal expansion occurs in all three
forms – solids, liquids and gases.
• The amount of expansion of materials
differ according to the physical state.
• Solids expand the least where as gas
expand the most.
 USES OF
THERMAL EXPANSION
• Rivets use thermal expansion of solids to
join metal plates.
• Opening tight metal lid of glass jar using hot
water works because metals expand more
than glasses helping it to get loose.
• Thermometer uses the expansion of a liquid
to measure the temperature.
• Gliders use expansion of gases to glide.
LECTURE # 2
 BAD CONSEQUENCES OF
THERMAL EXPANSION
• Buckling of metal railway tracks.
• Buckling of hot water pipes.
• Cracking of road surfaces in summer.
• Cracking of bridges.
• Cracking of ordinary glass wares.
• Snapping of overhead cables in winter.
 SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS
• Railways tracks are joined with fish-hole plates with
gaps to allow tracks to expand.
• The hot water pipes are curved to allow for
expansion.
• The slabs are placed with small gaps which are filled
with a jelly like material called bitumen.
• The ends of the bridges are supported on rollers so
they can slide when expands.
• Pyrex glasses are used that expands very less.
• The cables are strung loosely between poles to
prevent from snapping when they contract in winter.
 BIMETALLIC STRIP
• A bimetallic strip is a device used in thermostats
and mechanical thermometer.
• It consists of bonded strips of two metals with
unequal thermal expansion.
• When heated, the bimetallic strip bends because
one metal expands more than the other.
• This reversible motion is used to move a dial pointer
or to open or close a switch in an electric circuit by
changing temperature.
MECHANICAL THERMOMETER
 HOW IT WORKS???
• A bimetallic strip thermometer uses a helical metal
strip that unwinds when heated and rotates a
pointer over a calibrated scale.
• When warmed, one metal (usually copper)
expands more than the other (usually Invar), so
causing the bimetallic strip to unwind.
• Invar is an alloy of iron and nickel, which has a low
thermal expansion compared with copper.
TEMPERATUR REGULATOR IN IRON
 HOW IT WORKS
• When the iron gets hotter than the set
temperature, the bimetallic strip bends away
from the contact and the circuit breaks.
• The heater turns off as no current flows.
• The bimetallic strip bends to straighten as it
cools and touches with the contact again.
• The circuit closes and the current flows which
turns on the heater again.
TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED SWITCH
IN FIRE ALARM
 HOW IT WORKS
• When the room catches fire, bimetallic strip
bends towards the contact and the circuit is
formed.
• The alarm bell turns on as the current flows.
• The bimetallic strip bends as it cools and
straightens breaking with the contact again.
• The circuit opens and the current stops to flow
which turns off the bell again.
 LATENT HEAT
• Latent heat is the energy absorbed
or released by a substance during a
change in its physical state (phase)
that occurs without changing its
temperature.
 What is Latent Heat of Fusion?
• The particles in a solid vibrate about their fixed mean positions.
• During melting, the latent heat absorbed is used to weaken the
bonds between the particles.
• The particles are freed from their fixed positions and are able to
vibrate and move among each other as particles of a liquid.
• The heat absorbed by a melting solid is known as the latent
heat of fusion.
• The heat required to convert a solid into the liquid state is
called latent heat of fusion.
 Specific Latent Heat of Fusion

• ‘The specific latent heat of fusion of a solid is the quantity of

heat in joules required to convert 1 kilogram of the solid to
liquid, with out any change in temperature.
• Example: The specific latent heat of fusion of ice = 3.34 × 105 J/kg
• For a liquid to solidify at its freezing point, latent heat of fusion
has to be removed from it.
 What is Latent Heat of Vapourisation?
• The particles in a gas are in continuous random motion and
they are much further apart from each other than the particles
of a liquid.
• When a liquid boils, the latent heat absorbed is used to:
(a) completely break the bonds between the particles,
(b) do work against atmospheric pressure when the gaseous
vapour expands into the atmosphere.
• The heat absorbed during boiling is known as the latent heat of
vapourisation.
• The heat required to convert a liquid into the vapour state is
called latent heat of vapourisation.
 Specific Latent Heat of Vapourisation

• ‘The specific latent heat of vapourisation of a liquid is the

quantity of heat in joules required to convert 1 kilogram of the
liquid to vapour or gas, without any change in temperature.
• Example: The specific latent heat of vapourisation of water =
2.26 × 106 J/kg
• When vapour condenses back into a liquid, latent heat of
vapourisation is released.
 Practice Questions
• Question 1
• The specific latent heat of fusion of ice is
336000 J/kg. Calculate the amount of thermal
energy needed to melt 0.65 kg of ice at 0 ˚C.
• Solution
• ∆ E = m × Lf
• = 0.65 × 336000
• = 218400 J
 Practice Questions
• Question 2
• How much thermal energy is needed to change
0.050 kg of mercury from liquid to gas at 357 ˚C
given that the specific latent heat of
vapourisation of mercury is 296000 J/kg?
• Solution
• ∆ E = m × Lv
• = 0.05 × 296000
• = 14800 J
 Practice Questions
• Question 3
• How much thermal energy is needed to
change 0.020 kg of ice at 0 ˚C to liquid water
at 10 ˚C?
• [L f = 336000 J/kg and c water = 4200 J/kg ˚C
• Solution
• Step 1: For the change of state of ice
• ∆ E = m × Lf
= 0.02 × 336000
= 6720 J
 Practice Questions
• Step 2: For the rise in temperature of water
• ∆ E = m × c × ∆θ
= 0.02 × 4200 × 10
= 840 J
• Step 3: Total energy change
• ∆ E total = 6720 + 840
• = 7560 J
 Practice Questions
• Question 4
• How much thermal energy is needed to
change 0.020 kg of ice at - 8 ˚C to steam at
100 ˚C?
• [c ice = 2000 J/kg ˚C , L f = 336000 J/kg
c water = 33400 J/kg ˚C L v = 2260000 J/kg]
 QUESTION
• What will be the change in temperature of 50 kg of
water if a power source working at voltage of 200 V
drawing a current of 5 A for 5 hours is used to heat
up the water given that the specific heat capacity of
water is 4200 J/kg ˚C?