JAMB - Physics (2019 - No. 80)
A copper rod, 5m long, when heated through 10ºC, expands by 1mm. If a second copper rod, 2.5m long, is heated through 5ºC, by how much will it expand?
4mm
0.25mm
2mm
0.12mm
Explanation
For the first copper rod:
\(L_0 = 5 \, \text{m} = 5000 \, \text{mm}, \quad \Delta T = 10 \, \text{°C}, \quad \Delta L = 1 \, \text{mm}\)
Coefficient of linear expansion \( \alpha \):
\(\alpha = \frac{1 \, \text{mm}}{5000 \, \text{mm} \cdot 10} = \frac{1}{50000} \, \text{mm}^{-1}\)
For the second copper rod:
\(L_0 = 2.5 \, \text{m} = 2500 \, \text{mm}, \quad \Delta T = 5 \, \text{°C}\)
Expansion:
\(\Delta L = L_0 \cdot \alpha \cdot \Delta T = 2500 \, \text{mm} \cdot \frac{1}{50000} \, \text{mm}^{-1} \cdot 5 = 0.25 \, \text{mm}\)
The second copper rod will expand by: \(0.25 \, \text{mm}\)
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