Experiment No. 1: Linear Expansion Trexia D. Capapas tdcapapas@mymail.mapua.edu.ph Abstract.

The study was all about linear expansion which is the expansion in length of solid bodies which was caused by high temperature. The purpose of the study was to determine and compare the coefficient of linear expansion of the aluminum and copper tube and to determine the factors affecting the change in length in the thermal expansion. The study was carried out using a steam generator which was connected to the end of the tube and heated up. The change in length, change in temperature, and resistance of the thermistor was determined in the study to calculate the value of the coefficient of linear expansion of the two metal rods. Based on the data gathered, the temperature of the environment makes difference on the computed value to the actual value of the coefficient of linear expansion. Due to the cool temperature of the environment, we did not able to reached the boiling point which resulted to the high value of percentage error of the coefficient of linear expansion. In addition, it was observed that the coefficient of linear expansion of the aluminum tube was greater than of the copper tube. Keywords: linear expansion, thermal expansion, coefficient of linear expansion

Introduction Most materials expand when their temperature increases which refers to thermal expansion. Each atom vibrates about its equilibrium position. When the temperature increases, the energy and amplitude of the vibration also increase. As a result, when the amplitude of the vibration increases, the average distance between atoms also increases. The change in dimension could be one dimensional called the linear expansion, it may be two which is area expansion, or three dimensional which known as volume expansion. The study aimed to observe and determine the relevant concepts of linear expansion since dealing with the one dimensional is easier than two or three dimensional. Through this study, we able to differentiate and learned that every metal has its own value of coefficient of linear expansion. Determination of coefficient of linear expansion of aluminum and copper tube were also determined in this study. The linear coefficient of thermal expansion of the material is the equation used in the analysis of the results in the experiment. A coefficient is a number that serves as a measure for some characteristic or property. It may also be a factor against which other values are multiplied to provide a desired result. For any type of material, it is possible to calculate the degree to which that material will expand or contract when exposed to changes in temperature. This is known, in general terms, as its coefficient of expansion, though, in fact, there are two varieties of expansion coefficient. The coefficient of linear expansion is a constant that governs the degree to which the length of a

solid will change as a result of an alteration in temperature For any given substance, the coefficient of linear expansion is typically a number expressed in terms of 105/C. In other words, the value of a particular solid's linear expansion coefficient is multiplied by 0.00001 per C. (The C in the denominator, shown in the equation below, simply "drops out" when the coefficient of linear expansion is multiplied by the change in temperature.) Experimentally, if the change in temperature is less than 100 , the change in length was found to be proportional to the change in temperature and the initila length of the rod is constant (different for different materials) known as the coefficient of linear expansion. It is denoted by the Greek letter and the algebraic definition is as follows, (eq. 1) where can be expressed as, (eq. 2) and combining all the equations will give the equation of the final length of the body which is (eq. 3) The temperature of the environment during the experimentation would affect the value of the computed coefficient of linear expansion. A cool environment would lead to the tube not to reach te boiling point which is 100 that cause not to reach the actual value of coefficient of linear

expansion. To have an accurate value of coefficient of linear expansion, an average temperarure must be the temperature of the environment. Materials and Methods In determining the coefficient of the linear expansion of the aluminum and copper tube, the following materials were used (see figure 1): aluminum and copper tube which were the material that experimented and both measured 705 mm, digital multi tester to measure the resistance of thermistor, expansion base with built-in gauge and thermistor, and steam generator to boil water to create steam inside of the tube.

Fig2. The banana plug connector was connected to the leads of ohmmeter. After that, we attached the thermistor lug in the middle of tube and locked it by the thumb screw. We assured that the lug was aligned with the axis of the tube so that there is maximum contact between the lug and the tube. We inserted the leads of the ohmmeter into the banana plug connector of the tube where we determine the resistance of the thermistor at room temperature and the initial temperature of the tube and recorded it. We turned the outer casing of the dial gauge to align the zero point on the scale with the indicator needle. We set-up the steam generator by putting the rubber tube on the other end of the tube farthest from the dial gauge and to the steam generator then set the steam generator to on.

Fig1.The materials used during he experiment. We performed the experiment on an air cooled classroom. In the first part of the experiment, we measured the initial length of the tube based on the inner edge of the tube to the inner edge of the angle bracket. Next, we mounted the tube in the expansion base then we make sure that the pin on the tube fits into the slot of the slotted mounting block and the bracket presses against the spring arm of the dial gauge.

Fig3. The steam generator was connected on the tube user rubber tube.

A rag was used to catch the draining water from the tube. As the steam begins to flow, we observed the movement of the dial gauge and noticed that the movement of the hand of it moved counter clockwise. When the thermistor resistance stabilizes, we record the resistance. Also, we record the expansion of the tube length (L) as indicated by the displacement of the indicator on the dial gauge. After getting the necessary data from the experiment, we calculated the experimental coefficient of linear expansion using equation 1 in the introduction and the actual value from the table provided in the manual of the laboratory. Lastly, we calculated the percentage of error of the tube which was used to compare the actual value to the computed value of the coefficient of linear expansion of the tube. Then repeated the same procedure on the other tube. Results Some problems were encountered throughout the experimentation like the setting of the experiment and the process of recording and gathering the data. The setting of the experiment had a major effect on the values gathered in the experiment. Due to the cool temperature of the environment, the apparatus did not reach its boiling point that led to the high percentage error between the computed and actual value of the coefficient of linear expansion. Measuring the resistances of the tubes was also encountered since the digital multi tester was inconsistent in the measure it prints on the screen. To work out with it, we waited for the digital mulit meter to stop at a certain measurement and record it. In the latter part of the experimentation, we had a hard time in recording the data in ms excel since the laptop we used did not able to show the answer from the function that we assigned. From it, we decided to borrowed a laptop from another group to complete the report. Wrong computations and calculations of the coefficient of linear expansion had also undergone by our group. The design of the experiment was good in a way that it helped us to apply the concepts we learned. The table 1 below shows the differences of the properties regarding on the linear expansion of the aluminum and copper tubes. It also shows the percentage of error of the computed value to the actual value of the coefficient of linear expansion.

Table 1. DATA GATHERED Trial/ Type of Tube Initial Resistance of Thermistor at Room Temperature Change in Length Change in Temperature of the Tube Resistance of Thermistor at Final Temperature Experimental Coefficient of Linear Expansion Actual Coefficient of Linear Expansion Percentage Error

Aluminum 102,300 1.235 mm 48 C 14,500 3.64953 E-05 /C 0.000023 8 /C 53.34 %

Copper 99,100 0.88 mm 54 C 11,100 2.31153 E-05 /C 0.000016 8 /C 37.59 %

Discussion The purpose of the study was to determine and compare the coefficient of linear expansion of the aluminum and copper tube and to determine the factors affecting the change in length in the thermal expansion. When the temperature of the metals increases, an increase in length will occurred based on the principle of linear expansion. The increase in length was very minimal that sometimes it cant be observed by the eyes. This increase is due to the fact that when the temperature is increased, the average distance between atoms increases. In the experiment, the table 1 shows the data gathered from the experiment which shows that the coefficient of the linear tube of the aluminum is greater than of that copper tube and aluminum has a greater value of change in length. Considering this relationship, the equation regarding on the linear expansion satisfies and proved that the coefficient of linear expansion has a direct relationship to the chang in length of the tube. The percentage error of the aluminum and copper tube has a greater value which means that the computed value of coefficient of linear expansion is highly different from the actual value. It is due because of the environment we took place while performing the experiment. The room is an air cooled room, thus, the tube does not reach the final temperature of 100 which affect the resulting experimental coefficient of linear expansion. Acknowledgments First and foremost, I want to express my full gratitude to Engr. De Leon, my professor in physics12 laboratory, for the lessons that he teached us and for the guidance throughout the

experiment. The Mapua Institute of Technology who provide equipments in the experiment. The laboratory assistants who never failed to briefly discuss the uses of the materials that we used and precautions to every equipment. My groupmates for the cooperation and unity throughout the experiment. Lastly, my family and the one above all of us, the omnipresent God, for giving me the strength to accomplished this laboratory report. References [1] Young, H., University Physics with Modern Physics, 12th Edition, 2008 [2] http://www.answers.com/topic/thermalexpansion [3] http://www.cedarville.edu/personal/lee/colleg ephysics1/phys1010_lab10-linear-coefexpan.pdf