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Physics · Class 11 Science

Ch 10Thermal Properties of Matter — Class 11 Physics, concept-first.

We all carry an intuitive sense of what "hot" and "cold" mean. A kettle of boiling water feels hot; a block of ice feels cold. Temperature is the physical quantity that measures this "hotness" — it tells us how hot or cold a body is relative to some standard. But common sense alone is not enough for physics.

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Key concepts

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Chapter contents

The NCERT structure, section by section. Open a section to see its questions, then read the concept-first solution.

10.1

Introduction

We all carry an intuitive sense of what "hot" and "cold" mean. A kettle of boiling water feels hot; a block of ice feels cold.

10.2

Temperature and Heat

Temperature is a relative measure — an indication of how hot or cold something is. A hot utensil has a high temperature; an ice cube has a low temperature.

10.3

Measurement of Temperature

Temperature is a measure of how hot or cold an object is. But to measure it quantitatively, we need a device that exploits a physical property that changes predictably with temperature.

10.4

Ideal-gas Equation and Absolute Temperature

The behaviour of gases under varying conditions of pressure, volume, and temperature has been studied for centuries.

10.5

Thermal Expansion

2 Q

Most substances expand when heated and contract when cooled. This phenomenon — the change in size or volume of a material in response to a change in temperature — is called thermal expansion.

10.6

Specific Heat Capacity

When you supply heat to a substance, its temperature usually rises. The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a given body by one degree (1 °C or 1 K) is called its heat capacity (often de…

10.7

Calorimetry

When two bodies at different temperatures are placed in thermal contact, heat flows from the hotter body to the colder one.

10.8

Change of State

When you heat a solid, its temperature rises steadily — until it reaches a certain point. Then something remarkable happens: the temperature stops rising, even though you keep adding heat.

10.8.1

Latent Heat

2 Q

Matter exists in three common states — solid, liquid, and gas. A change from one state to another is not a gradual, continuous process at the microscopic level.

10.9

Heat Transfer

Heat moves from a hotter body to a colder one. There are exactly three ways this happens: conduction, convection, and radiation.

10.9.1

Conduction

2 Q

Conduction is the transfer of heat through a material without any bulk movement of the material itself.

10.9.2

Convection

Heat transfer through a fluid — whether liquid or gas — happens by a fundamentally different mechanism than conduction.

10.9.3

Radiation

Heat can travel through empty space. That is the central fact that sets radiation apart from conduction and convection.

10.9.4

Blackbody Radiation

Thermal radiation is not confined to a single wavelength. At any given temperature, it is spread over a continuous range of wavelengths, and the amount of energy carried differs from one wavelength to…

10.10

Newton's Law of Cooling

Every hot object left to itself eventually reaches the temperature of its surroundings. A cup of tea on a table, a hot pan taken off the stove, or a heated metal block in a room — all cool down over t…

Summary

- Temperature is the measure of hotness; heat is energy in transit due to a temperature difference. - The Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin scales are related by: and .

Points to Ponder

1. The equation and the assignment for the triple point of water are exact by definition. Because the triple point is now the single fixed point (it has a unique, reproducible temperature), the meltin…

Exercises

+Show 20 questions20 questions
  1. 10.1The triple points of neon and carbon dioxide are $24.57\ \text{K}$ and $216.55\ \text{K}$ respectively. Express these temperatures on the Ce…Free
  2. 10.2Two absolute scales $A$ and $B$ have triple points of water defined to be $200\ A$ and $350\ B$. What is the relation between $T_A$ and $T_B…Free
  3. 10.3The electrical resistance in ohms of a certain thermometer varies with temperature according to the approximate law: $$R = R_0\left[1 + \alp…Free
  4. 10.4Answer the following: (a) The triple-point of water is a standard fixed point in modern thermometry. Why? What is wrong in taking the meltin…Preview
  5. 10.5Two ideal gas thermometers $A$ and $B$ use oxygen and hydrogen respectively. The following observations are made: | Temperature | Pressure t…Preview
  6. 10.6A steel tape $1\ \text{m}$ long is correctly calibrated for a temperature of $27.0\ ^\circ\text{C}$. The length of a steel rod measured by t…Preview
  7. 10.7A large steel wheel is to be fitted on to a shaft of the same material. At $27\ ^\circ\text{C}$, the outer diameter of the shaft is $8.70\ \…Preview
  8. 10.8A hole is drilled in a copper sheet. The diameter of the hole is $4.24\ \text{cm}$ at $27.0\ ^\circ\text{C}$. What is the change in the diam…Preview
  9. 10.9A brass wire $1.8\ \text{m}$ long at $27\ ^\circ\text{C}$ is held taut with little tension between two rigid supports. If the wire is cooled…Preview
  10. 10.10A brass rod of length $50\ \text{cm}$ and diameter $3.0\ \text{mm}$ is joined to a steel rod of the same length and diameter. What is the ch…Preview
  11. 10.11The coefficient of volume expansion of glycerine is $49 \times 10^{-5}\ \text{K}^{-1}$. What is the fractional change in its density for a $…Preview
  12. 10.12A $10\ \text{kW}$ drilling machine is used to drill a bore in a small aluminium block of mass $8.0\ \text{kg}$. How much is the rise in temp…Preview
  13. 10.13A copper block of mass $2.5\ \text{kg}$ is heated in a furnace to a temperature of $500\ ^\circ\text{C}$ and then placed on a large ice bloc…Preview
  14. 10.14In an experiment on the specific heat of a metal, a $0.20\ \text{kg}$ block of the metal at $150\ ^\circ\text{C}$ is dropped in a copper cal…Preview
  15. 10.15Given below are observations on molar specific heats at room temperature of some common gases. | Gas | Molar specific heat $(C_v)$ $(\text{c…Preview
  16. 10.16A child running a temperature of $101\ ^\circ\text{F}$ is given an antipyrin (i.e. a medicine that lowers fever) which causes an increase in…Preview
  17. 10.17A 'thermacole' icebox is a cheap and an efficient method for storing small quantities of cooked food in summer in particular. A cubical iceb…Preview
  18. 10.18A brass boiler has a base area of $0.15\ \text{m}^{2}$ and thickness $1.0\ \text{cm}$. It boils water at the rate of $6.0\ \text{kg/min}$ wh…Preview
  19. 10.19Explain why: (a) a body with large reflectivity is a poor emitter (b) a brass tumbler feels much colder than a wooden tray on a chilly day (…Preview
  20. 10.20A body cools from $80\ ^\circ\text{C}$ to $50\ ^\circ\text{C}$ in $5$ minutes. Calculate the time it takes to cool from $60\ ^\circ\text{C}$…Preview

Exemplar Problems

Higher-order thinking / exemplar-style practice problems.

+Show 27 questions27 questions
  1. Q1A bimetallic strip is made of aluminium and steel ($\alpha_{Al} > \alpha_{steel}$). On heating, the strip will (a) remain straight. (b) get…Free
  2. Q2A uniform metallic rod rotates about its perpendicular bisector with constant angular speed. If it is heated uniformly to raise its temperat…Free
  3. Q3Two temperature scales A and B are related by a straight-line graph on which temperature on scale A (in °A) is plotted on the vertical axis…Free
  4. Q4An aluminium sphere is dipped into water. Which of the following is true? (a) Buoyancy will be less in water at $0^\circ$C than that in wate…Preview
  5. Q5As the temperature is increased, the time period of a pendulum (a) increases as its effective length increases even though its centre of mas…Preview
  6. Q6Heat is associated with (a) kinetic energy of random motion of molecules. (b) kinetic energy of orderly motion of molecules. (c) total kinet…Preview
  7. Q7The radius of a metal sphere at room temperature $T$ is $R$, and the coefficient of linear expansion of the metal is $\alpha$. The sphere is…Preview
  8. Q8A sphere, a cube and a thin circular plate, all of same material and same mass are initially heated to same high temperature. (a) Plate will…Preview
  9. Q9Mark the correct options: (Note: more than one of the given options may be correct.) (a) A system $X$ is in thermal equilibrium with $Y$ but…Preview
  10. Q10'Gulab Jamuns' (assumed to be spherical) are to be heated in an oven. They are available in two sizes, one twice bigger (in radius) than the…Preview
  11. Q11The heating of ice is recorded as a plot of temperature (in °C, vertical axis) against time (in minutes, horizontal axis); the sketch is not…Preview
  12. Q12A glass full of hot milk is poured on the table. It begins to cool gradually. Which of the following is correct? (Note: more than one of the…Preview
  13. Q13Is the bulb of a thermometer made of diathermic or adiabatic wall?Preview
  14. Q14A student records the initial length $l$, change in temperature $\Delta T$ and change in length $\Delta l$ of a rod as follows: | S.No. | $l…Preview
  15. Q15Why does a metal bar appear hotter than a wooden bar at the same temperature? Equivalently it also appears cooler than wooden bar if they ar…Preview
  16. Q16Calculate the temperature which has same numeral value on celsius and Fahrenheit scale.Preview
  17. Q17These days people use steel utensils with copper bottom. This is supposed to be good for uniform heating of food. Explain this effect using…Preview
  18. Q18Find out the increase in moment of inertia $I$ of a uniform rod (coefficient of linear expansion $\alpha$) about its perpendicular bisector…Preview
  19. Q19During summers in India, one of the common practice to keep cool is to make ice balls of crushed ice, dip it in flavoured sugar syrup and si…Preview
  20. Q20100 g of water is supercooled to $-10^\circ$C. At this point, due to some disturbance mechanised or otherwise some of it suddenly freezes to…Preview
  21. Q21One day in the morning, Ramesh filled up 1/3 bucket of hot water from geyser, to take bath. Remaining 2/3 was to be filled by cold water (at…Preview
  22. Q22We would like to prepare a scale whose length does not change with temperature. It is proposed to prepare a unit scale of this type whose le…Preview
  23. Q23We would like to make a vessel whose volume does not change with temperature (take a hint from the problem above). We can use brass and iron…Preview
  24. Q24Calculate the stress developed inside a tooth cavity filled with copper when hot tea at temperature of 57$^\circ$C is drunk. You can take bo…Preview
  25. Q25A straight rail track made of steel, of length $L = 10$ m, is clamped rigidly to a railway line at both of its ends so that it cannot expand…Preview
  26. Q26A thin rod having length $L_0$ at $0^\circ$C and coefficient of linear expansion $\alpha$ has its two ends maintained at temperatures $\thet…Preview
  27. Q27According to Stefan's law of radiation, a black body radiates energy $\sigma T^4$ from its unit surface area every second where $T$ is the s…Preview