High School

A lead rod has a length of 143.8 m when the temperature is 20 degrees Celsius. What is its length when the temperature is 59.1 degrees Celsius?

Answer :

Final answer:

To calculate the new length of a lead rod when the temperature changes from 20 degrees Celsius to 59.1 degrees Celsius, we use the formula for linear thermal expansion, accounting for the temperature change and the coefficient of linear expansion for lead.

Explanation:

The expansion of a lead rod when the temperature increases from 20 degrees Celsius to 59.1 degrees Celsius can be calculated using the formula for linear thermal expansion, which is ΔL = αL₀ΔT, where ΔL is the change in length, α is the coefficient of linear expansion for lead, L₀ is the original length, and ΔT is the change in temperature. For lead, α is typically around 29 x 10-6 per degree Celsius. To find the new length of the rod, we add the change in length to the original length.

First, we need to calculate the change in temperature: ΔT = 59.1 °C - 20 °C = 39.1 °C. Next, we calculate the change in length: ΔL = (29 x 10-6/°C) x 143.8 m x 39.1 °C. After finding ΔL, we can find the new length of the rod by adding the original length to ΔL: New length = 143.8 m + ΔL.