A blacksmith heated a metal whose cubic expansivity is 3.9 x 10−6 − 6 K−1 − 1 . Calculate the area expansivity.

Answer Details

To find the area expansivity of a metal when given its cubic expansivity, you should understand the relationship between linear, area, and cubic expansivity.

Cubic expansivity (\( \beta \)) is defined as the fractional change in volume per change in temperature, and is given by the formula:

\[ \Delta V = \beta V \Delta T \]

Area expansivity (\( \alpha_{A} \)) corresponds to the fractional change in area per change in temperature and can be derived from the linear expansivity (\( \alpha \)). The relationship between these expansivities is as follows:

\[ \text{Area Expansivity (\( \alpha_{A} \))} = 2 \times \text{Linear Expansivity (\( \alpha \))} \]

The cubic expansivity (\( \beta \)) is related to the linear expansivity by:

\[ \text{Cubic Expansivity (\( \beta \))} = 3 \times \text{Linear Expansivity (\( \alpha \))} \]

Thus, based on these relationships, we can express the area expansivity in terms of the cubic expansivity:

\(\text{Area Expansivity (\( \alpha_{A} \))} = \frac{2}{3} \times \text{Cubic Expansivity (\( \beta \))}

Given that the cubic expansivity \( \beta \) is \( 3.9 \times 10^{-6} \, \text{K}^{-1} \):

The area expansivity can be calculated as follows:

\[ \text{Area Expansivity (\( \alpha_{A} \))} = \frac{2}{3} \times 3.9 \times 10^{-6} \, \text{K}^{-1} = 2.6 \times 10^{-6} \, \text{K}^{-1} \]

Therefore, the **correct answer** is **2.6 x 10^{-6} K^{-1}**.