Temperature

Some definitions

Temperature Temperature is a measure of the degree of hotness or coldness of an object

It determines the direction of net thermal energy transfer between two objects
SI unit: Kelvin
Heat or thermal It refers to the amount of thermal energy that is being transferred from a hotter to a
energy colder region.
SI unit: Joule
Temperature Method used to quantify the variable which is temperature
scale
Fahrenheit Used in America
scale Has 2 fixed points ice point (32°F) and steam point (212°F)

Celsius scale Has 2 fixed points ice point (0°C) and steam point (100°C)

Thermodynamic Temperature in kelvin = Temperature in °C + 273

scale

Thermometric substances

• Thermometric substances have physical (thermometric) properties that vary uniformly and
continuously with temperature.

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Calibration of a liquid-in-glass thermometer

Determining the fixed points

 Melting point of pure ice and boiling point of water is chosen as the fixed points because they are
common physical phenomena, which are easily reproducible.

 Immerse the bulb and the lower part of the thermometer

stem into a funnel containing pure melting ice.
 When the mercury level in the thermometer stem is
steady, make a mark l0 at that level on the stem. This is
the ice point.

 Insert the thermometer into the apparatus. The bulb

should be just above the boiling water.
 The stem of the thermometer should protrude from the
top of the apparatus.
 When the mercury level in the thermometer stem
remains steady, make a mark l100 at that level on the
stem. This is the steam point.

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Thermocouple

 Consists of two wires made of different metals

such as iron and copper
 The wires are joined to form two junctions, which
produce a small electromotive force when there is a
temperature difference between them.

Advantages
• Wire junction is small and needs very little heat to warm it up. Responds very quickly to temperature
changes and can be used in very small or precise locations.
• Output is an electrical signal which can be used to operate electrical equipment capable of giving
warnings of sudden temperature changes or keeping continuous records of temperatures. (e.g. in
airplanes)
• Depending on the metals chosen, temperatures up to 1500˚C can be measured.

Questions
The resistance of a piece of platinum wire is 450 Ω when placed in pure melting ice and 560 Ω when placed
in steam above boiling water. Determine the temperature of a molten substance if the resistance of the wire
is found to be 1260 Ω when placed in the substance.

The range of a mercury-in-glass thermometer is from −10°C to 110°C. The length of the mercury thread
between the −10°C and 110°C marks on the stem is 20 cm. Determine the temperature when the length of
the mercury thread is 12 cm from the −10°C mark.

A thermocouple is used to measure the temperature in a gas turbine. An e.m.f. of 45 mV is obtained when
junction X is kept at 0°C and junction Y is kept at 100°C. The e.m.f. changes to 65 mV when the hot junction
is placed in the gas turbine.
(a) Why is the thermocouple suitable for measuring the temperature in a gas turbine?
(b) Calculate the temperature in the gas turbine.

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13. A cup is filled with 0.3 kg of water at 50 °C and a pail is filled with 5.0 kg of water at 30 °C.
Which of the following is false?

A The water in the cup has a higher temperature than the water in the pail.
B There is more mass of water in the pail than in the cup.
C There is more thermal energy stored in the pail than in the cup.
D When the cup is placed together with the pail, heat will flow from the pail to the cup.

14. The resistance of an alloy wire is 25 Ω when it is placed in a cup of pure melting ice. At room
temperature of 28 °C, the resistance is 38 Ω. If the wire is put in boiling water at 100 °C, what
will be the resistance?

A 28 Ω B 46 Ω C 71 Ω D 152 Ω

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 Kinetic Model of Matter

Relate molecular structure (arrangement, force, motion and distance between particles) and
properties of solids, liquids and gases

Force and arrangement of particles Properties

Solid Particles are closely packed High density
Held by strong attractive forces Fixed shape and
Vibrate about fixed positions volume
Incompressible
Liquid Particles are slightly farther apart compared to in solids High density
and randomly arranged Fixed volume but no
Free to move over one another fixed shape
Strong attractive forces Incompressible

Gas Particles are far apart and randomly arranged Low density
Free to move at high speeds No fixed volume and
Weak forces of attraction between particles shape
Compressible

Evidence for movement of molecules (Brownian motion)

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 • Experiment: observe smoke trapped in the glass cell under a microscope

• Observations:

• smoke particles appear as bright dots because they scatter the light that shines on
them

• smoke particles move in random directions

• the larger the particles the less agitated the motion

• Deduction:
• The smoke particles moved randomly because they were being bombarded by
many air molecules in all directions. The air molecules are too small to be seen

• Conclusion:
• Brownian motion refers to the random motion of particles, such as pollen and dust
specks, suspended in fluids (e.g. air, water).
• This random motion is due to the fluid particles moving about randomly and
bombarding the suspended particles.

Relationship between motion of molecules and temperature

• When a substance is heated, it gains thermal energy.

• The thermal energy gained increases the random kinetic energy of the molecules
• Hence when temperature increases, kinetic energy and speed of molecules increase

Assumptions of the kinetic model of an ideal gas (not tested)

• The gas consists of a very large number of identical molecules

• The volume of the molecules is negligible compared with the total volume occupied by the
gas
• The molecules are moving in completely random directions, at a wide variety of speeds
• There are no forces between the molecules
• The total kinetic energy of the molecules remain constant at the same temperature

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Pressure of a gas (Recall P = F/A)

• Moving gas molecules collide with the inner wall of the container and exert a force on it.
• The force exerted per unit area is the called gas pressure.
[Note: Each and every collision can result in a different sized force, and it is not realistic to know all
the forces that individual molecules exert on the walls. However, because the molecular motions
are random and because of the very large number of them, the total force caused by many
molecular collisions on any unit area of the container wall will be completely predictable and will
(usually) be constant at all places in the container.]

Relationship between Pressure, Volume and Temperature of a gas

1. Pressure and temperature (keeping volume constant)

• At a higher temperature, the air molecules

have greater speeds (greater average
kinetic energy).

• The air molecules will then bombard the

walls of their container more forcefully and
more frequently.
• This causes an increase in gas pressure
inside the container.

The pressure p of a fixed mass of gas is

directly proportional to its temperature T
at constant volume.

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 2. Volume and temperature (keeping pressure constant)

• The glass tube allows the gas in the round-

bottomed flask to expand.

• An increase in the gas volume can be

observed by the rise of the coloured water
droplet.

• When the air is heated, the increased temperature causes the air molecules to move at
higher speeds.

• The air molecules will then bombard the walls of their container more forcefully and more
frequently. In other words, the gas pressure increases.
• To maintain a constant pressure, the air expands and the air molecules move farther
apart. As the air molecules occupy a larger volume, they collide with the walls less
frequently, resulting in a decrease in pressure.

• The pressure will stop decreasing when it is equal to the atmospheric pressure again.

Before heating After heating Explanation and conclusion

Volume Constant Increases
Frequency of Higher Lower Molecules move faster and
collision farther apart hence colliding with
the walls less frequently
Force of Lower Higher Temperature increases so KE
collision increases and force of impact
with walls increases
Gas Pressure Atmospheric Atmospheric Remains unchanged
pressure pressure

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 Chapter 16 Static Electricity

Types of charges

 A negative charge refers to an electron

 A positive charge refers to a proton or an atom which has lost electrons (ion)

Unit of charge

 1 electron has a charge of 1.6 × 10─19 C

 1 Coulomb of electric charge is made up of 6.25 × 10─18 electrons

Law of electrostatics

 Like charges repel and unlike charges attract

Testing the charge on an object

 Charged object attracts uncharged object

 Charged object also attracts object with the opposite charge
 Therefore, the only test for a charged object is repulsion

Electric field

 An electric field is a region in which an electric charge experiences a force

 (By convention) Direction of an electric field line is the direction of the force exerted on a small
positive test charge placed in the field
 Field line is perpendicular to the surface of the charged object
 Field lines always point away from a positive charge and towards a negative charge

Electric field of an isolated point charge

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Electric field between two isolated point charges

Electrostatic charging by friction (rubbing)

Explanation:

 Electrons which are loosely attached (attracted) to the atoms at the surface of the material are
removed due to friction and deposited on the surface of the other material.
 Rubbing transfers electrons, which are negatively charged, from the surface of one material to the
other.
 The triboelectric series categorises materials based on their tendency to become positively or
negatively charged

Positive Negative
Air, human body, glass, nylon, wool Teflon, silicon, vinyl, polyethylene, rubber
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*Take note: the charge on an object refers to excess charge

Electrostatic charging by induction

(1) Charging 2 conductors

(2) Charging one conductor

How is charge distributed on the surface of a conductor?

Charge density is highest where a surface is most sharply curved. Flat surfaces have a low charge density
compared with curved surfaces and charge density is highest at corners, edges and points on conductors.
(This does not apply to insulators because charge cannot flow to establish any particular distribution)

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Discharging

Hazards of electrostatic charging

(1) Electrostatic discharge

Electric charges can accumulate on trucks due to friction between the road and the rotating tyres of the
trucks. When a sudden discharge occurs, it may cause sparks, and ignite flammable items that the trucks
may be carrying. To prevent this, some older petrol tankers have metal chain at the rear of the vehicle. This
chain hangs close to the ground, and provides an earthing path for excess charges.

(2) Anti-static bags

Electrostatic discharge can also damage electronic equipment, such a circuit boards and hard drives. To
protect these equipment, they are usually packed in antistatic packaging. Antistatic materials have a thin
layer of metallised film, which acts an an electrostatic shield for the equipment placed inside. (like a Faraday
cage)

(3) Lightning

 A thundercloud is electrically charged due to the turbulent winds and moving particles of ice and
water within the cloud
 Negatively charged base of cloud induces positive charge on the ground and the buildings below.
 Positive charge builds up at the points of the lightning conductor causing surrounding air particles to
be ionised. The ionised air particles then stream towards the cloud.
 The steady leakage of positive charge towards the clouds from the points and the flow of electrons
(from air) down the lightning conductor to earth helps to prevent a large build-up of charge on the
highest point of the building.

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O Level 2015

Applications of electrostatic charging

(1) Electrostatic precipitator

 Used to remove smoke and dust from the waste gases going up the chimneys of factories and power
stations.
 The wire grid is kept highly charged so that dust particles in the gas going up the chimney are given
the same charge.
 The charged particles are repelled from the wire grid and attracted to the earthed plates where they
become deposited.
 These plates are tapped from time to time so that the dust particles fall down the chimney and are
removed at the bottom.

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(2) Fingerprinting

 Metal plate with a coating of fine powder is given a large electrical charge. The specimen is given the
opposite charge.
 The powder is repelled from the metal towards the specimen.
 When the powder hits the specimen, it is stuck to the ridges of the fingerprint
 Elsewhere, the powder is repelled and falls back on to the metal plate.

(3) Photocopier

 Surface of drum is covered with selenium, which becomes conducting when exposed to light.
 Toner is sprayed on drum and sticks to part of the drum
 Paper is passed over the drum and the toner powder sticks to the paper
 The powder on the paper is melted and forms a permanent image on the paper

Method 1 (O level 2012)

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Method 2 (O level 2007)

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(4) Spray painting

A fine needle at the tip of the spray paint gun is charged negatively. This gives all the paint droplets exiting
the spray gun a negative charge. If the object to be spray-painted is given a positive charge, then the paint is
attracted to it covering the object evenly on all sides.

Additional information

If a negatively charged rod is brought close to a small piece of paper (which is an insulator). The excess
electrons on the rod repel the electrons in the atoms which make up the paper, but attract the positively
charged nuclei. Since paper is an insulator, the repelled electrons are not free to move through the paper.
Instead, the atoms in the paper polarize: i.e., their nuclei move slightly towards, and their electrons slightly
away from, the rod. The attractive force between the excess electrons in the rod and the atomic nuclei in
the paper is slightly greater than the repulsion between the electrons in the rod and those in the paper,
since the electrons in the paper are, on average, slightly further away from the rod than the nuclei. Thus,
there is a net attractive force between the rod and the paper. In fact, if the piece of paper is sufficiently light
then it can actually be picked up using the rod. In summary, whenever a charged object is brought close to
an insulator, the atoms in the insulator polarize, resulting in a net attractive force between the object and the
insulator.

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 The volume V of a fixed mass of gas is
directly proportional to its temperature T
at constant pressure.

3. Pressure and volume (temperature remains constant)

The pressure of the gas inside the

syringe is increased by slowly
pushing the piston inwards (to
compress the gas).

• When the volume of the gas is decreased, the number of air molecules per unit
volume increases.
• The air molecules will therefore bombard the walls of the container more
frequently.
• This causes an increase in the average force exerted on the walls of the container,
and hence an increase in the gas pressure.

The pressure p of a fixed mass of gas is

inversely proportional to its volume V at
constant temperature.

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Question 1
Some gas is trapped in a container. Use the kinetic model of matter to explain and predict the
changes in the gas pressure for the following cases. State any assumptions you made to arrive at
your answer.

1. The container that holds the gas is rigid (i.e. its volume is constant), and the gas is heated.

2. The container that holds the gas is able to expand freely (i.e. its volume is not constant),
and the gas is heated.

3. The container that holds the gas is flexible (i.e. its volume is not constant), and the gas
volume is increased.

Question 2

The figure shows a syringe that contains gas at the same pressure as the air outside. The piston
moves freely along the piston without any friction. No gas escapes.

As the syringe is heated from 20°C to 100°C, the piston moves outwards. It stops moving when the
temperature is steady. State how the value of each of the following quantities compares at 100°C,
after the piston stops, with its value at 20°C. For each quantity, you should write greater, the same
or less.

The average distance between the gas molecules

The pressure of the gas after the piston stops
The average speed of the gas molecules
The frequency of the collisions between the gas molecules and the piston