Worksheet 1 : Thermal properties of matter

1. What is the SI unit of heat and how it is related to calorie?

2. Can a substance contract on heating?

3. A cubical block is heated from 0 0C to 100 0C. The percentage increase in length is 0.2%.
What is the percentage increase in volume? [0.6%]

4. A sheet of brass is 50 cm long and 10 cm broad at 0 0C. The surface area increases by 1.9 cm2
at 100 0C. What is the coefficient of linear expansion of brass? [1.9x10-5 oC-1]

5. 540g of ice at 0 0C is mixed with 540 g of water at 80 0C. What is the final temperature of the
mixture? [ 0 0C]

6. An object has a temperature of 50 0F. What is its temperature in degree Celsius and in
kelvin? [10 oC; 283K]

7. A thermometer has its fixed points marked at 5 and 95. What is the correct temperature in
o
C when this thermometer reads 59 oC? [60 0C]

8. An iron railway line is 30m long. How much will its length increase if its temperature is raised
by 50 0C? The coefficient of linear expansion of iron is 1.2x10-5 oC-1 [ 18mm]

9. A flask of volume 200 cm3 is just filled with mercury at 20 oC. How much mercury will
overflow when the temperature of the system is raised to 100 oC? (α = 1.2x10-5 oC-1) [ 2.69
cm3]

10. A circular hole of radius 1 cm in a brass sheet is kept at 293K. What will be the diameter of
this hole when the sheet is heated to 393K? (α = 20x10-6 oC-1) [2.004 cm]

11. Explain why a beaker filled with water at 4oC overflows if the temperature is increased or
decreased?

12. Pendulum clocks generally run fast in winter and slow in summer. Why?

13. Thick bottom drinking glasses frequently crack when hot water is poured into them. Why?

14. Two identical metallic strips of copper and steel are riveted to form a bimetallic strip. What
will happen on heating? (Coefficient of linear expansion for copper is more than steel)

15. Stainless steel cooking parts are preferred with extra copper bottom. Why?

16. Explain why a brass tumbler feels much colder than a wooden tray on a cold day.

17. Why is water used as an effective coolant in radiators?

18. Why are birds often seen to swell their feathers in winter?

19. Why are clear nights colder than cloudy nights?

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20. Which object will cool faster when kept in open air, the one at 300oC or the one at 100oC?
Why?

21. Ice at 0oC is converted into steam at 100oC. State the isothermal change in the process.

22. At what temperature do the readings of Celsius and Fahrenheit scale coincide? [-40 0]

23. A faulty thermometer reads 50C in melting ice and 99oC in steam. Find the correct
temperature in oF when the faulty thermometer reads 520C. [122oF]

24. Railway lines are laid with gaps to allow for expansion. If the gap between steel rails 66m
long be 3.63 cm at 100C, then at what temperature will the lines just touch? (α = 11x10-6 oC-1)
[600C]

25. How much the temperature of a brass rod should be increased so as to increase its length by
1%? (α = 0.00002oC-1) [ 5000C]

26. A steel meter scale is to be ruled so that the millimetre interval are accurate to within about
5x10-5 mm at a certain temperature. What is the maximum temperature variation allowable
during the ruling? (α = 11x10-6 oC-1) [4.50C]

27. Calculate the heat required to convert 0.6 kg of ice at -200C, kept in a colorimeter to steam
at 100oC at atmospheric pressure. (Specific heat capacity of ice = 2100 kg-1K-1, specific heat
capacity of water = 4186 Jkg-1 K-1, latent heat of ice = 3.35x105 Jkg-1, latent heat of steam =
2.256x106 Jkg-1) [ 1.8x108 J]

28. An electric heater of power 100W raises the temperature of 5kg of a liquid from 250C to 310C
in 2 minutes. Calculate the specific heat capacity of the liquid. [400 Jkg-1oC-1]

29. Calculate the rate of loss of heat through a glass window of area 1000 cm2 and thickness
0.4cm when temperature inside is 370C and outside is -5oC. Coefficient of thermal
conductivity of glass is 2.2x10-3 cal s-1 cm-1 K-1. [231 cal s-1]

30. Calculate the temperature in kelvin at which a perfect black body radiates energy at a rate
of 5.67 Wcm-2. Given σ = 5.67x10-8 Wm-2K-4. [1000K]

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