PHYSICS

THERMAL EXPANSION

∆𝐿 = 𝛼𝐿0 ∆𝑇 𝛽 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛

∆𝐿 𝛼 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠℃−1

∆𝑇 =
𝐿𝑜 𝛼

∆𝐴 = 2𝛼𝐴0 ∆𝑇 𝐿0 = 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ ∆𝐿 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ

𝑇0 = 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 ∆𝑇 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒
∆𝑉 = 3𝛼𝑉∆𝑇 = 𝛽𝑉∆𝑇 𝐴0 = 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 ∆𝐴 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝑉0 = 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 ∆𝑉 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒

𝐿 = 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑇 = 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒
𝐴 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝑉 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
IDEAL GAS LAW

𝑃 = 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑃𝑉 = 𝑛𝑅𝑇

𝑉 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
𝑇 = 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝐼𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑚 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓
𝐾 = 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟( 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 )
𝐽 𝑚
𝑅 = 8314 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑀, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑛 =
𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑀

Special Cases

𝐵𝑜𝑦𝑙𝑒 ′ 𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑤 ( 𝑛, 𝑇 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡) 𝑃𝑉 = 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡

𝑃
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑠′ 𝐿𝑎𝑤 ( 𝑛, 𝑃 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡) = 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑇
𝑉
𝐺𝑎𝑦 𝐿𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑎𝑐′𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑤 ( 𝑛, 𝑉 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡) = 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑇
Absolute Zero
- This unique temperature at which P and V would reach zero is called
absolute zero.

Standard Conditions or Standard Temperature and Pressure (S.T.P.)

𝑇 = 273.15 = 0℃ 1𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙 = 22.4𝑚3
𝑃 = 1.013𝑥105 𝑃𝑎 = 1𝑎𝑡𝑚
𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑎𝑡 𝑆. 𝑇. 𝑃. , 2𝑘𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝐻2 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑠
𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑠 32𝑘𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑂2 𝑜𝑟 28𝑘𝑔 𝑜𝑓
𝑁2 , 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑦 22.4𝑚3

Note: 1𝑎𝑡𝑚 = 1.013 𝑏𝑎𝑟 105 𝑃𝑎 = 1𝑏𝑎𝑟

Gas Law Problem involving a change in condition are usually easily solved by writing the gas
law as
𝑃1 𝑉1 𝑃2 𝑉2 𝑃1 𝑇2
= (𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑛) 𝑉2 = 𝑉1 ( )( )
𝑇1 𝑇2 𝑃2 𝑇1
𝑃1 𝑉1 𝑉1 𝑇2
𝑇2 = 𝑇1 ( )( ) 𝑃2 = 𝑃1 ( )( )
𝑃2 𝑉2 𝑉2 𝑇1
HEAT

Heat is a form of energy that, when added to a body of matter, increases the internal
energy content of the body and thereby causes its temperature to rise. The customary
symbol for heat is Q. Because heat is a form of energy, the proper SI unit of heat is
the joule. However, the kilocalorie is sometimes used with SI units: 1 kilocalorie (kcal)
is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1°C. The
calorie itself is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 g of water by
1°C; hence 1 kcal = 1000 cal. (The calorie used by dieticians to measure the energy
content of foods is the same as the kilocalorie.) The British unit of heat is the British
thermal unit (Btu): 1 Btu is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 lb
of water 1◦F. To convert heat figures from one system to the other, we note that

1 J = 2.39 × 10 − 4 kcal = 9.48 × 10 − 4 Btu

1 kcal = 3.97 Btu = 4186 J = 3077 ft · lb
1 Btu = 0.252 kcal = 778 ft · lb = 1054 J

Specific Heat Capacity

Different substances respond differently to the addition or removal of heat. The

symbol of specific heat capacity is c; its SI unit is J/(kg· °C) [although kcal/(kg· °C) is
still sometimes used], and its British unit is Btu/(lb· °F).
Among common materials, water has the highest specific heat capacity, namely,
J kJ kcal Btu
𝑐𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 4186 = 4.186 = 1.00 = 1.00
kg · ℃ kg · ℃ kg · ℃ lb · ℉
Ice and steam have lower specific heat capacities than water:
J kJ kcal Btu
𝑐𝑖𝑐𝑒 = 2090 = 2.09 = 0.50 = 0.50
kg · ℃ kg · ℃ kg · ℃ lb · ℉
J kJ kcal Btu
𝑐𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 = 2010 = 2.01 = 0.48 = 0.48
kg · ℃ kg · ℃ kg · ℃ lb · ℉
Metals usually have low specific heat capacities; thus lead and iron have
J
c = 130 and 460 , respectively
kg · ℃
When an amount of heat Q is transferred to or from a mass m of a substance whose specific heat
capacity is c, the resulting temperature change ∆T is related to Q, m, and c by the formula
Q = mc ∆T
Heat transferred = (mass)(specific heat capacity)(temperature change)