The ice and steam point on a mercury-in-glass thermometer are 10cm and 30cm respectively. Calculate the temperature in decree Celsius when the mercury menis...
The ice and steam point on a mercury-in-glass thermometer are 10cm and 30cm respectively. Calculate the temperature in decree Celsius when the mercury meniscus is the 14cm mark
Answer Details
We can use the principle of the thermometer, which states that the volume of the liquid (in this case, mercury) in the bulb and stem of the thermometer changes with temperature, and this change in volume is linearly related to the temperature. Therefore, we can set up a proportion: change in volume of mercury / total length of thermometer stem = change in temperature / temperature interval between ice and steam points Let x be the length of the mercury column when the temperature is at the desired point. Then the change in volume of mercury is 14 - 10 = 4 cm. The total length of the stem is 30 - 10 = 20 cm. The temperature interval between ice and steam points is 100oC. Substituting these values into the proportion, we get: 4 cm / 20 cm = change in temperature / 100oC Solving for the change in temperature, we get: change in temperature = (4 cm / 20 cm) * 100oC = 20oC To get the actual temperature at the 14 cm mark, we add the change in temperature to the ice point temperature (which is 0oC): temperature at 14 cm mark = 0oC + 20oC = 20oC Therefore, the answer is 20oC.