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.
Key concepts
Hover a concept to preview it and jump to its most relevant Q&A.
Thermal Expansion Coefficient
Think about a metal railway track on a summer day. The track is laid in sections with small gaps between them. On a hot afternoon, those gaps get smaller — sometimes the track even buckles.
Most relevant Q&A
- Show that the coefficient of area expansion, $(\Delta A/A)/\Delta T$, of a rectangular sheet of the solid is twice its linear expansivity, $…Preview
- A blacksmith fixes iron ring on the rim of the wooden wheel of a horse cart. The diameter of the rim and the iron ring are $5.243\ \text{m}$…Preview
- A 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
- A 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
- A 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
Chapter contents
The NCERT structure, section by section. Open a section to see its questions, then read the concept-first solution.
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.
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.
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.
Ideal-gas Equation and Absolute Temperature
The behaviour of gases under varying conditions of pressure, volume, and temperature has been studied for centuries.
Thermal Expansion
2 QMost 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.
+−Worked Examplesi1 question
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…
Calorimetry
When two bodies at different temperatures are placed in thermal contact, heat flows from the hotter body to the colder one.
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.
Latent Heat
2 QMatter 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.
+−Worked Examplesi1 question
Heat Transfer
Heat moves from a hotter body to a colder one. There are exactly three ways this happens: conduction, convection, and radiation.
Conduction
2 QConduction is the transfer of heat through a material without any bulk movement of the material itself.
+−Worked Examplesi1 question
Convection
Heat transfer through a fluid — whether liquid or gas — happens by a fundamentally different mechanism than conduction.
Radiation
Heat can travel through empty space. That is the central fact that sets radiation apart from conduction and convection.
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…
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
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- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 10.5Two ideal gas thermometers $A$ and $B$ use oxygen and hydrogen respectively. The following observations are made: | Temperature | Pressure t…Preview
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 10.10A 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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.
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- Q1A bimetallic strip is made of aluminium and steel ($\alpha_{Al} > \alpha_{steel}$). On heating, the strip will (a) remain straight. (b) get…Free
- Q2A uniform metallic rod rotates about its perpendicular bisector with constant angular speed. If it is heated uniformly to raise its temperat…Free
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Q6Heat is associated with (a) kinetic energy of random motion of molecules. (b) kinetic energy of orderly motion of molecules. (c) total kinet…Preview
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Q13Is the bulb of a thermometer made of diathermic or adiabatic wall?Preview
- 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
- 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
- Q16Calculate the temperature which has same numeral value on celsius and Fahrenheit scale.Preview
- 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
- Q18Find out the increase in moment of inertia $I$ of a uniform rod (coefficient of linear expansion $\alpha$) about its perpendicular bisector…Preview
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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