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Cambridge IGCSETM Physics

Student’s Book

CHAPTER 9

THERMAL
PROPERTIES
AND
TEMPERATURE

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• Why do you think the railway track

shown in the photo has buckled?

• How can you tell from this photo

that large forces have acted?

• Why is it important to prevent

buckling of railway tracks?

• Can you think of ways to prevent

this from happening?

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9.1 Thermal Expansion

In this section, you will learn the
following:

• Describe qualitatively the thermal

expansion of solids, liquids and gases at
constant pressure.

• Describe some of the everyday

applications and consequences of
thermal expansion.

• Explain, in terms of the motion and

arrangement of particles, the
relative order of magnitudes of the
expansion of solids, liquids and
gases as their temperatures rise.

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What happens when materials are heated?
• Heated → Materials increase in volume or expand
• Greater the temperature rise → Greater the expansion

Expansion of a solid
metal (Figure 9.1 of SB
(Student’s Book))

Expansion of a liquid
in a thermometer
(Figure 9.2 of SB) Expansion of air (Figure 9.3 of SB)

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Why do solids, liquids and gases expand
by different amounts?

• Gas expansion > Liquid expansion > Solid

expansion (for same temperature rise)

• Particles do not expand but the volume that

they occupy does

Solids expand because

their particles become
bigger. True or false? The volume of a liquid expands when
heated, while the size of the particles
remains the same. (Figure 9.4 of SB)

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What are the applications and consequences of expansion?

No space to expand → Large forces may act

Expansion gaps in a length of rail

(Figure 9.5 of SB)

Expansion gaps in a bridge roadway

(Figure 9.6 of SB)

Rollers supporting one end of a bridge

(Figure 9.7 of SB)

Shrink fitting two metal parts together using

thermal expansion (Figure 9.8 of SB)

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• 1. Explain the applications and consequences of expansion.
• (a) Railway lines
• Some railway lines have expansion gaps to allow for expansion when the lines get hot. (Figure 9.5)
• Modern railway lines do not have gaps. This is to allow the trains to move more smoothly. The lines
are designed to fit tightly on a hot day. On cold days, the lines contract, but they are still held in
place by supporting structures underneath.
• (b) Bridges
• Bridges also expand and contract with changes in temperature. An expansion gap at one end of a
concrete bridge can be introduced. Another way of allowing for expansion is to put one end of the
bridge on rollers. (Figure 9.6)
• (c) Shrink fitting
• Expansion can be used to fix two metal parts together using shrink fitting.
• An example is fitting a metal axle into a metal train wheel (Figure 9.7). The metal axle is first made
too large for the hole in the metal train wheel. Then, the axle is cooled to shrink so it will fit into the
wheel. When the axle warms up and expands, the two metals are firmly held together.
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1. What evidence is there that the forces caused by expansion are large?

2. Explain why overhead telephone wires hang more loosely on a hot day.

3. Explain using the kinetic particle model of matter why solids contract when they
are cooled.

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• Answers:
1. Expansion can cause metal railway lines to buckle.
2. Thermal energy causes them to expand and become longer.
3)Removing thermal energy makes the particles vibrate less vigorously.
Therefore, they occupy a smaller volume.
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9.2 Specific Heat Capacity

In this section, you will learn the
following:

• Know that a rise in the temperature of

an object increases its internal energy.

• Describe an increase in
temperature in terms of an
increase in the average kinetic
energies of all of the particles in
the object.

• Recall and use the equation

c=

• Describe experiments to measure

the specific heat capacity of a solid
and a liquid.

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What is internal energy? Student’s Book

• Internal energy of a substance: Total energy of all of its particles

• Higher temperature of substance (measured in °C or K) → Greater internal energy of substance (measured in J)

The molecules have higher

Heating a beaker of water
kinetic energy when heated up.
(Figure 9.9 of SB)
(Figure 9.10 of SB)
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What is specific heat capacity?

• Specific heat capacity, c: Amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass (e.g. 1 kg) of a
substance by 1°C (or 1 K)

• c=
where = thermal energy required (in J)
= temperature change (in K or °C)
m = mass of substance (in kg)

• Commonly used unit of specific heat capacity: Joule per kilogram per kelvin, J/(kg K), or the joule per kilogram
per degree Celcius, J/(kg°C)

Specific heat capacity of some common materials (Table 9.1 of SB)

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Calculate the temperature change of 1 kg of copper when it is supplied with 4200 J of thermal energy.

Solution

Using ∆E = mc ∆θ

4200 = 1 x 400 x (∆θ)

∆θ = 10.5 °C

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Objective
To determine the specific heat capacity of a solid

Calculation
In Chapter 16, power = current × voltage or P = IV
Since it is used for t seconds, the thermal energy ΔE provided by the
heater = IVt

Assuming all of the thermal energy provided by the heater is absorbed

by the solid block,
ΔE = mcΔθ
IVt = mcΔθ where Δθ = θT – θ1

Therefore, the specific heat capacity of aluminium is given by

c=

Note: Since we assume that no heat is lost to the surroundings in the

calculation above, good insulation is important in this experiment. Experimental set-up to
determine the specific heat capacity of a solid
(Figure 9.11 of SB)
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An electric heating coil supplies 50 W of power to a metal block of 0.60 kg. In 90 s, the temperature of the
block is raised from 20°C to 45°C. Calculate the specific heat capacity of the metal. State the assumption you
made to arrive at your answer.

Solution
Assuming no heat is lost to the surroundings,
Given: Power P of heater = 50 W
thermal energy supplied by the heater = thermal energy absorbed
Time taken t = 90 s
by the block
Mass m of block = 0.60 kg
Pt = mc(θ)
Change in temperature θ = 45°C − 20°C Therefore, the specific heat capacity c of the metal =
= 25°C
=
Thermal energy supplied by heater = P × t = 300 J/(kg°C)
= 50 W × 90 s
= 4500 J

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Objective
To determine the specific heat capacity of a liquid

Calculation

Thermal energy supplied by heater, ΔE = IVt

Thermal energy absorbed by liquid = mcΔθ
= mc(θ2 – θ1)

Assuming all the thermal energy supplied is absorbed by the liquid

(i.e. no heat loss to the surroundings),
thermal energy supplied by heater = thermal energy absorbed by liquid
IVt = mc(θ2 – θ1)

Therefore, the specific heat capacity c of the liquid is given by

c= Experimental set-up to
determine the specific heat capacity of a liquid
(Figure 9.12 of SB)

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To find its specific heat capacity, a student heated some liquid in a polystyrene cup using an
electrical heater. Her results are given below:

Mass of liquid = 250 g Potential difference = 12.0 V

Current = 3.5 A Time = 360 s
Starting temperature = 18°C Final temperature = 32°C

(a) Calculate the power of the electrical heater.

(b) Calculate the thermal energy supplied by the heater in 360 s.
(c) What was the temperature change of the liquid?
(d) Calculate the value that this gives for the specific heat capacity of the liquid.

Solution
(a) Power = IV = 3.5 A × 12.0 V = 42 W
(b) Energy, E = power × time = 42 W × 360 s = 15 120 J
(c) Temperature change, θ = 32 − 18 = 14°C
(d) Specific heat capacity, c = = = 4320 J/(kg°C)

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1. A beaker contains 100 cm3 of water at 20°C. State whether the following changes would cause
the internal energy of the water to increase, decrease or stay the same.
(a) Heating the water to 40°C
(b) Cooling the water to 100°C
(c) Removing 50 cm3 of water from the beaker
(d) Adding 50 cm3 of water at 20°C to the beaker

2. Explain why on a hot sunny day the sand at the beach is hotter than the water in the sea.

3. 3 100 g of a metal needs 1000 J to raise its temperature by 9 C. Calculate the specific heat
capacity of the metal.

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9.3 Changes of State

In this section, you will learn the following:

• Describe melting and boiling in terms of energy input

without a change in temperature.
• Know the melting and boiling temperatures for water at
standard atmospheric pressure.
• Describe condensation and solidification in terms of
particles.
• Describe evaporation in terms of the escape of more
energetic particles from the surface of a liquid.
• Know that evaporation causes cooling of a liquid.
• Describe the differences between boiling and
evaporation.
• Describe how temperature, surface area and air
movement over a surface affect evaporation.
• Explain the cooling of an object in contact with an
evaporating liquid.

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What happens to the temperature when materials change state?

• Melting point of pure water (at standard atmospheric pressure of 1 atmosphere) = 0°C
• Boiling point of pure water (at standard atmospheric pressure of 1 atmosphere) = 100°C

Heating ice (Figure 9.13 of SB) Graph of heating curve of water (Figure 9.14 of SB)

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What happens to the temperature when materials change state?

Graph showing the changes of state as matter loses heat (Figure 9.15 of SB)

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What is evaporation?

How evaporation occurs (Figure 9.16 of SB)

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Why does evaporation cause cooling?

• Evaporation: Water molecules with enough kinetic energy escape into the air

• Overcome the attractive forces among themselves as well as the pressure of the atmosphere

• Fastest moving molecules escape into the air → Leave behind the molecules with lower kinetic energy

• Average kinetic energy of the water molecules decreases → result in a lower temperature

On a hot day, our body

perspires. The sweat evaporates
from the surface of your skin.
How does this help to cool the
body down?

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Objective
To demonstrate that evaporation causes cooling

Observation and discussion:

• After three minutes the temperature drops by several degrees.

• The water evaporates into water vapour.
• This change of state requires thermal energy which is removed
from the thermometer, causing it to cool.
• The cold air fan increases the rate of evaporation.
• This shows that the evaporation of the water causes cooling.

Evaporation causes cooling

(Figure 9.18 of SB)

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What is the difference between evaporation and boiling?

Differences between boiling and evaporation (Table 9.2 of SB)

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What are the factors that affect the rate of evaporation?

What affects the rate

of evaporation?
(Figure 9.19 of SB)

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1. Explain why spraying perfume on the skin produces a cooling effect.

2. Explain why energy is needed to turn a solid into a liquid.

3. Explain why puddles evaporate more quickly on a warm day than a cold day.

4. Give two factors that make wet clothes on a washing line dry more quickly.

5. Give one similarity and one difference between evaporation and boiling.

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What
have you
learnt?

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What
have you
learnt?

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Acknowledgements
• Slide 1: railroad tracks – ID 118838564 © Karen Black | Dreamstime.com
• Slide 2: railroad tracks – ID 118838564 © Karen Black | Dreamstime.com
• Slide 6: space for thermal expansion joint © sellphoto1 | 123rf.com, movement joint – ID 104692127 © Marek Uliasz |
Dreamstime.com, rollers at end of bridge – ID 130895574 © Luboslav Ivanko | Dreamstime.com
• Slide 24: coffee in a cup – ID 50978290 © Dzmitry Shpak | Dreamstime.com, inflatable pool © Arina Zaiachin | 123rf.com,
hanging clothes © Igor Zakharevich | 123rf.com

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