Thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases

What causes the constriction in a clinical thermometer?

May/June 2015

For a liquid-in-glass thermometer, the liquid column measures $2.0\,\text{cm}$ at $0\,^\circ\text{C}$ and rises to $10.0\,\text{cm}$ when it is heated to $100\,^\circ\text{C}$. Starting from P, what is the length of the liquid column at $30\,^\circ\text{C}$?

May/June 2015

For a liquid-in-glass thermometer, the liquid column measures 2.0 cm in length at $0^{\circ}\text{C}$ and becomes 10.0 cm longer when it is heated to $100^{\circ}\text{C}$. Starting from P, what is the length of the liquid column at $30^{\circ}\text{C}$?

May/June 2015

The diagram illustrates two liquid-in-glass thermometers $P$ and $Q$. Other than the fact that $Q$ has a capillary tube with a larger internal diameter than $P$, the thermometers are the same. Which thermometer has the larger range and which thermometer has the greater sensitivity?

May/June 2016

When equal volumes of air, copper and water are heated from $20\,^\circ\text{C}$ up to $80\,^\circ\text{C}$, each expands by a different amount.

May/June 2016

The mercury-in-glass thermometer illustrated uses a linear scale. When the temperature is $100^\circ\text{C}$, $h$ is $28\,\text{cm}$. When the temperature is $80^\circ\text{C}$, $h$ is $24\,\text{cm}$. What is the value of $h$ at a temperature of $0^\circ\text{C}$?

May/June 2017

The diagram shows a clinical thermometer. What feature in the diagram indicates that this is a sensitive thermometer?

May/June 2017

A glass jar has a metal lid that is fitted on tightly. Hot water is poured over the lid to make it easier to open. Which physics property accounts for this?

May/June 2017

The bulbs in all four thermometers shown contain mercury. Which thermometer has the greatest sensitivity?

May/June 2017

The diagrams show four thermometers. Which thermometer has the highest sensitivity, and which one has the largest range?

May/June 2018

What happens to a solid when heating causes it to expand?

May/June 2018

The diagram shows a thermometer. What substance is present in region X of the capillary tube?

May/June 2018

Metal, water and air, each with the same volume, are heated from 20 ^{\circ}C to 80 ^{\circ}C.

May/June 2018

Two thermometers X and Y have different liquids, but are identical in every other respect. Both thermometers are heated by the same increase in temperature. The liquid in thermometer X expands by a greater volume than the liquid in thermometer Y. Which thermometer is the more sensitive one, and which thermometer has the wider range?

May/June 2019

The diagram shows two thermometers P and Q, which are the same except that P has a smaller amount of mercury. Which statement is correct?

May/June 2019

The diagram shows air enclosed in a flask by a small amount of water in a narrow tube. When a student holds the flask in their hands, the small amount of water first moves downward from P to Q, and then upward to R. Why does the small amount of water move in this way?

May/June 2019

The diagram illustrates a clinical thermometer. Which factor influences the thermometer's sensitivity?

May/June 2021

The diagram illustrates a clinical thermometer. Which factor influences the thermometer's sensitivity?

May/June 2021

Which statement correctly describes the thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases?

May/June 2021

In a liquid-in-glass thermometer, a liquid column measures $2.0\,\text{cm}$ in length at $0\,^{\circ}\text{C}$. When the thermometer is heated to $100\,^{\circ}\text{C}$, the column increases in length by $10.0\,\text{cm}$. Starting from P, what is the length of the liquid column at $30\,^{\circ}\text{C}$?

May/June 2022

A liquid-in-glass thermometer has a bulb filled with a liquid that expands into a narrow capillary tube. The liquid inside the thermometer is changed to a different liquid with the same volume, but this new liquid expands more for the same increase in temperature. The capillary tube is kept the same length. How does the new thermometer compare with the old thermometer?

May/June 2022

In a liquid-in-glass thermometer, the liquid column is $2.0\,\text{cm}$ in length at $0^\circ\text{C}$. When the thermometer is heated to $100^\circ\text{C}$, the column length increases by $10.0\,\text{cm}$. If the measurement is taken from P, what is the length of the liquid column at $30^\circ\text{C}$?

May/June 2022

A liquid-in-glass thermometer is made up of a bulb that contains a liquid, and this liquid expands into a narrow capillary tube. In the thermometer, the liquid is swapped for another liquid of the same volume that undergoes a larger expansion for the same increase in temperature. The capillary tube stays the same length. How does the new thermometer compare with the old thermometer?

May/June 2022

Which sequence gives the states of matter arranged by increasing expansion, from the least to the greatest, for the same increase in temperature?

May/June 2022

The diagrams illustrate instances of thermal expansion. P: liquid expanding in a thermometer Q: a tight lid expanding on a glass container R: long metal beams expanding as they support a roof In which diagrams is thermal expansion useful?

May/June 2023

A liquid-in-glass thermometer is used to measure the temperature of a substance. Which physical property varies so that the temperature can be determined?

May/June 2024

The extent to which a solid expands on heating depends on the strength of the forces between its particles. Which statement about these forces is correct?

May/June 2025

The diagram illustrates a cylinder that contains air. The piston can move freely within the cylinder, and atmospheric pressure acts on the outside of the cylinder. When the air inside the cylinder is heated, the piston shifts to the right. Which quantity decreases?

May/June 2025

The diagrams show four thermometers. Which thermometer has the highest sensitivity, and which thermometer has the widest range?

Oct/Nov 2015

The diagrams illustrate four thermometers. Which thermometer is the most sensitive, and which thermometer has the widest range?

Oct/Nov 2015

Why is a clinical thermometer able to measure small changes in body temperature?

Oct/Nov 2016

Why is a clinical thermometer appropriate for detecting small changes in body temperature?

Oct/Nov 2016

In a liquid-in-glass thermometer, the separation between the ice point and the steam point is $20\,\text{cm}$. The upper end of the liquid column is $12\,\text{cm}$ above the ice point. What is the temperature?

Oct/Nov 2017

Fig. 4.1 illustrates a mercury-in-glass thermometer constructed with a glass capillary tube.

Oct/Nov 2017

A glass jar has a metal lid fitted tightly onto it. Which process would make it easier to take the lid off the jar?

Oct/Nov 2018

Two liquid-in-glass thermometers are nearly the same. They each have the same amount of the same liquid, and their capillary tubes have equal diameters. The sole distinction is that one thermometer is taller than the other. Which row shows how the ranges and sensitivities of the thermometers compare?

Oct/Nov 2018

A nurse is using a mercury-in-glass clinical thermometer to take a patient’s temperature. Fig. 5.1 illustrates the layout of a clinical thermometer.

Oct/Nov 2018

Fig. 3.1 shows a copper kettle with a cylindrical shape holding cold water. It is used to warm the water, and an electric heater is fitted at the bottom.

Oct/Nov 2018

What alteration, by itself, increases the range of a liquid-in-glass thermometer?

Oct/Nov 2019

A metal rod is warmed. What changes occur in the rod?

Oct/Nov 2019

A diagram shows a glass flask containing water at $10^\text{C}$. A long glass tube runs through the bung and down into the water. The water level in the tube is at $X$. The flask is then put into hot water, and the water level in the tube eventually rises to $Y$. What causes the water level to rise?

Oct/Nov 2019

Two liquid-in-glass thermometers are made with the same dimensions. One is filled with ethanol and the other with an equal volume of mercury. For the same increase in temperature, ethanol expands more than mercury. In comparison with the mercury thermometer, what can be said about the sensitivity and range of the ethanol thermometer?

Oct/Nov 2021

Liquid-in-glass thermometers use the expansion of a liquid to indicate changes in temperature.

Oct/Nov 2021

Air is sealed inside a metal cylinder by a piston. The piston can move freely and the trapped air is at atmospheric pressure. The cylinder is placed in hot water. It is then removed from the water and allowed to cool. What happens to the mass of the air in the cylinder and to its pressure as it cools?

Oct/Nov 2022

A student studies how altering the temperature of a gas changes the gas volume. The gas remains at a fixed pressure. Which graph represents the link between temperature and the volume of a sample of gas at constant pressure?

Oct/Nov 2025