Question

2a. Based on the information presented in Diagram 2A/2B and Table 2 above, does brass orsteel expand/contract more at a given change of temperature? Explain why.

Answer 1

Change in the length of a material due to a change in temperature, ΔT is given as,

`\Delta L=\alpha L\Delta T`

Where L is the initial length of the material and α is the coefficient of linear expansion.

It is clear from the above equation that the expansion of a material is proportional to its coefficient of linear expansion.

From the table, Coefficient of expansion of steel,α₁=12.00

and, Coefficient of expansion of brass is, α₂=19.00

As the coefficient of expansion of brass is more than that of steel, brass will expand more than steel.