Astandard mercury thermometer consists of a hollow glasscylinder, the stem, attached to a bulb filled with mercury. as thetemperature of the thermometer changes, the mercury expands (orcontracts) and the height of the mercury column in the stemchanges. marks are made on the stem to denote the height of themercury column at different temperatures such as the freezing point(0 c ) and the boiling point (100 c ) of water. othertemperature markings are interpolated between these twopoints.
due to concerns about the toxic properties of mercury, many thermometers are made with other liquids. consider drainingthe mercury from the above thermometer and replacing it withanother, such as alcohol. alcohol has a coefficient of volumeexpansion 5.6 times greater than that of mercury. the amount ofalcohol is adjusted such that when placed in ice water, thethermometer accurately records 0 c. no other changes are made tothe thermometer.
part a
when the alcohol thermometer is placed in 22 c water, what temperature will the thermometer record?
less than 22 c
22 c
greater than 22 c
part b
when the alcohol thermometer is placed in a -12 csubstance, what temperature will the thermometer record?
less than
-12 c
-12 c
greater than -12 c
part c
if you want to design a thermometer with the same spacingbetween temperature markings as a mercury thermometer, how must thediameter of the inner hollow cylinder of the stem of the alcoholthermometer compare to that of the mercury thermometer? assume thatthe bulb has a much larger volume than the stem.
5.6 times wider
√5.6 times wider
the same diameter but different bulbsize
√5.6 times smaller
5.6 times smaller