Heat and Energy

Thermometers

1. The Temperature of a body tells us how hot it is and it is measured in degrees

Celsius.
2. Temperature is the measure of the average K.E. of the molecules in an object. The
higher the temperature the faster the molecules are moving.
3. Temperature is measured using a device called a thermometer.
4. The most common type of thermometer is the Liquid in glass thermometer and
there are two types: The Laboratory Thermometer and the clinical thermometer.
5. In this kind of thermometer, the liquid expands and moves up a capillary or bore
tube when the bulb is heated.
6. The liquid used must have 3 properties.
a. It must be easily seen.
b. It must expand and contract rapidly, evenly and by a large amount over a
wide range of temperatures.
c. It should stick to the inside of the tube or reading will be high when
temperature is falling.
7. Mercury is used because it expands evenly and it is a good conductor of heat and
it has a boiling point of 357. But its freezing point is -37 so it can’t be used to
measure low temperatures and it is poisonous.
8. Colored alcohol is used because it has a freezing point of -115 so it can be used at
low temperatures and it expands 6 times more than mercury. But because of it low
boiling point it can’t be used in hot place.
9. Laboratory thermometers are used to measure temperatures accurately. If the
liquid in the bulb gets warmer it expands along the tube where there is a scale in
degrees Centigrade. There is a vacuum above the tube so it can move easily along
the tube.