Class 7 - Heat and Temperature
Class 7 - Heat and Temperature
Ans:
For example: When a utensil is kept on a gas burner, it gets heat, its temperature increases
and it becomes hot. When heat is removed from a substance then its temperature decreases
and it becomes cold.
Ans:
Tea is hot but ice is cold, soup is hot but ice cream is cold, the spoon kept in a cup of
hot milk is hot whereas fruit juice is cold, a frying pan kept on a burning gas stove is
hot but the handle of frying pan is cold.
When an object is heated, then it becomes hotter and may get expand. So, in this heat
may change the state of the body like ice can also get change into the water.
Heat sometimes acts as a catalyst to speed up the chemical reaction.
Heat can even kill the bacteria as well.
The temperature of an object is the degree of hotness (or coldness) of the object.
A high temperature of an object tells us that it is very hot whereas a low temperature
of the object tells us that it is quite cold.
For example:
1. The temperature of boiling water is 100°C, which is quite high. So, boiling water
feels to be very hot.
2. On the other hand, the temperature of melting ice is 0°C, which is quite low. So, ice
feels to be very cold to touch.
Ans:
Q: What is clinical thermometer? What is its range? Why it is not used to measure high
temperature?
Ans:
A clinical thermometer has a kink (or constriction) in its glass tube just above the
bulb containing mercury.
The kink is to prevent the back flow of mercury into the thermometer bulb when the
thermometer bulb is removed from the mouth of a patient.
The kink prevents the mercury level in the thermometer tube from falling on its own.
When the thermometer bulb is removed from the mouth of a patient, the mercury
thread will keep standing at the maximum level reached.
Due to this we can read the correct body temperature of the patient even after
removing the thermometer bulb from his mouth.
Q: Name the two temperature scales in clinical thermometer? What is their range?
Ans:
A clinical thermometer has usually two temperature scales marked on its glass
tube on the two sides of the mercury thread:
1. Celsius scale of temperature and
2. Fahrenheit scale of temperature.
The scale of temperature marked on the clinical thermometer has a range of 94°F to 108°F.
Ans:
When we put the thermometer bulb in the mouth of a patient, then some of the body
heat of patient is transferred to the mercury in the thermometer bulb.
This heat makes the liquid mercury of the thermometer bulb to expand (increase in
volume) due to which the mercury thread is pushed to a higher level in the
thermometer tube.
Higher the fever of a patient, greater will be his body heat and hence higher will be
the level of mercury or higher will be the temperature shown by the thermometer.
(1) The clinical thermometer should be washed before and after use.
(2) Before using the clinical thermometer, we should ensure that the mercury level in its tube
is below 35°C mark.
(3) Read the clinical thermometer by keeping the level of mercury along the line of sight.
(4) The clinical thermometer should never be held by the bulb while reading it.
(5) Handle the clinical thermometer with care. The thermometer can break if it hits against
some hard object.
Ans:
For example:
1. We should not measure the temperature of hot milk by using a clinical thermometer.
2. This is because the temperature of hot milk is very high due to which it will cause a
large expansion of mercury.
3. And since there is no extra space in the glass tube of clinical thermometer to
accommodate large expansion of mercury, the thermometer tube will break.
(2) There is a glass bulb containing mercury which is joined at the lower end of the glass
tube.
(3) The top end of glass tube is sealed (after removing air)
(4) The whole length of thermometer glass tube is graduated (or calibrated) in degrees
Celsius.
(5) The graduations marked on the tube of a commonly used laboratory temperatures are
from, -10°C to 110°C. This is called the range of thermometer. Thus, the range of
a laboratory thermometer is generally from, -10°C to 110°C.
(6) If we look at the temperature markings of say, 0°C and 10°C on the thermometer tube, we
will find that there are 10 small divisions in-between them. Now, since 10 small divisions on
this laboratory thermometer tube represent a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, therefore, 1
small division on the laboratory thermometer will represent a temperature of 1 degree
Celsius.
(7) There a thin silvery thread of mercury in the narrow glass tube of the thermometer. The
upper end of this mercury thread (or column) tells us the temperature of the object in which
the thermometer bulb is placed.
(1) The laboratory thermometer should be held vertically (or upright) while measuring
temperature. It should not be tilted.
(2) The thermometer bulb should be surrounded from all sides by the substance whose
temperature is to be measured.
(3) The thermometer bulb should not touch the sides or bottom of the container in which the
substance is taken.
(4) Read the thermometer while its bulb is still in touch with the substance whose
temperature is being measured.
(5) Read the thermometer by keeping the level of mercury along the line of sight.
Q: Why laboratory thermometer is not suitable for measuring human body temperature?
Ans:
Ans:
The laboratory thermometer is used to find out the temperature of the other
objects such as water rather than human body temperature. It can measure the
temperature from -10 o C to 110 o C.
Q: Give the similarities and differences between clinical and laboratory thermometer?
Ans:
a) The clinical thermometer has a very short temperature range (35°C to 42°C)
whereas a laboratory thermometer has a large temperature range (usually from, -
10°C to 110°C).
b) The clinical thermometer has a kink (or constriction) in its tube to prevent the
back flow of mercury into the bulb whereas a laboratory thermometer has no
kink.
c) The clinical thermometer measures temperature more accurately (up to 0.1°C)
than a laboratory thermometer (which usually measure up to 1°C)
2.
Minimum-maximum thermometer
Q: Explain the reason why Mercury is used instead of water in thermometres?
Answer:
Due to following reasons, mercury is used in the thermometers instead of water
Ans:
Digital thermometer:
Most of the common thermometers are mercury thermometers which use a liquid
metal called mercury for their working.
Mercury is a toxic substance (poisonous substance).
Thus, It is sometimes difficult to handle a Mercury filled thermometer
especially when it breaks and the mercury falls out.
However, nowadays digital thermometers are available to use. This type of
thermometer does not contain Mercury.
It directly displays the correct temperature on a display screen.
Digital thermometer
(1) By Conduction
(2) By Convection and
(3) By Radiation
A transfer of heat from the hot part of a material to its colder part (without the
movement of material as a whole) is called conduction.
The transfer of heat by conduction takes place within the same object.
Conduction is the transfer of heat from the hotter part of a material to its colder part
without the movement of material as a whole.
Some objects can conduct heat while others cannot.
1. If we heat one end of a metal spoon by keeping it over a gas burner, we
find that its other end also becomes hot after a while. Heat is transferred
from the hot end of the metal spoon to its cold end.
2. A cold metal spoon dipped in a hot cup of tea gets heated by conduction
3. A cold metal spoon dipped in a hot cup of tea gets heated by conduction
Ans: On the basis of conduction of heat, all the materials are classified into two groups:
Ans:
The objects that can allow the heat to flow through them are called Conductors.
All the metals are good conductors of heat
Metal alloys (such as brass, steel and stainless steel) are also good conductors of heat.
Example: metals such as copper and aluminium.
Silver metal is the best conductor of heat
Figure 7 Conductors
Ans:
The objects that do not allow the flow of heat from them are called poor
conductors of heat.
The materials which are poor conductors of heat are called Insulators.
Water is a poor conductor of heat and air is a very poor conductor of heat. Air is a very
good insulator of heat.
The materials which trap air (such as cotton, wool, fur, feathers, fibreglass and plastic
foam) are very poor conductors of heat.
If one end of an object is made of insulator material is heated, then its other end does
not become hot. It either remains almost cold or becomes only slightly hot.
Example: Wood and Plastic.
Figure 8 Insulators
Q. How do birds keep themselves warm during winters?
Ans:
The feathers of birds keep them warm in cold weather due to air trapped in
them.
Air being a poor conductor of heat, prevents the body heat of birds from escaping to
the cold surroundings and hence keeps the birds warm in cold weather.
The animals having fur (such as polar bear) keep warm in cold weather because their
fur traps a lot of air.
Q: . Is it possible to construct buildings that are not affected much by heat and cold
outside?
Answer:
It is now possible to construct houses (and other buildings) in such a way that they are
not affected much by the heat or cold outside by constructing outer walls of buildings
so that they have trapped layers of air.
This can be done by constructing the outer walls of houses (or other buildings) by
using hollow bricks (which contain trapped air).
Since the hollow bricks contain a very poor conductor of heat ‘air’ trapped in them,
the walls made of hollow bricks will neither allow outside heat to come in during
summer nor allow inside heat to go out during winter.
This will save a lot of electrical energy as well as other fuels.
.
During winter season, a metal object kept in a room feels
very cold to touch but a wooden object in the same room
feels warmer to touch.
Answer:
(a) Heat will flow in both the directions from O to P and from O to R.
(b) First of all pin at P and R will fall simultaneously after that pin at Q will fall.
Q: Explain what is convection and how transfer of heat takes place through
Convection?
Ans:
The transfer of heat in liquids and gases is called Convection.
The transfer of heat by convection can take place only in liquids and gases because the
particles in liquids and gases can move about freely
The molecules of the liquid or gases that are near the source of the heat get heated
first.
They become lighter due to the heat and move upwards.
The colder particles being heavier take the place and this process continues until
the whole liquid or the gas gets heated.
That is why the area above the flame of a candle always feels hot but the area on
the sides of the candle does not.
The transfer of heat by convection also cannot take place in empty space
(called vacuum) because there are no particles of any kind in empty space
which can move and transfer heat.
The circulatory
movements of water in
the beaker in which hot
water rises and cold
water sinks again and
again, are
called convection
currents.
These convection
currents transfer heat
The heating element of an electric kettle (used for boiling water to make tea) is
also fixed at the bottom of the kettle. If the water taken in a vessel is heated by
a burner at the top, then the hot water (being lighter) stays at the top of the
vessel. Since no hot water from top can sink downwards towards the bottom of
the vessel, the water at the bottom of such a vessel (which is being heated at
Ans:
Ans:
During day time, when the sun shines, the solid land gets heated to a higher
temperature much more quickly than liquid sea-water.
The hot air over the land rises upwards and cooler air from over the sea moves
towards the land in the form of a cool breeze.
The breeze blowing from the sea towards the land is called sea-breeze.
The cool sea-breeze blows only during the day time when the land is hotter than the
sea.
To receive the cool sea-breeze during the day, the windows of houses in coastal
areas are-made to face the sea.
At night time, the hot land cools much faster than the warm sea-water.
Due to this, the land becomes cool very quickly but the sea-water remains warm for a
much longer time.
So, during night, the hot air over the warm sea rises upwards and cooler air from the
land blows in towards the sea in the form of a breeze (to take the place of hot rising
air).
The breeze blowing from the land towards the sea is called land-breeze. Land breeze
blows only during the night when the sea-water is hotter than the land.
Q: Define radiation?
Ans:
It is a process of transfer of heat in the form of waves.
Every hot object emits (gives out) invisible heat rays in all directions.
Hence, many times an object gets heated just by being near to a hot object.
These heat rays carry heat energy.
When these heat rays fall on a cold object, the cold object receives heat energy and
gets heated.
In this way, heat energy is transferred from hot object to cold object by means of heat
rays.
Method of transfer of heat energy by heat rays is called radiation. Heat can be
transferred from a hot body to a cold body by radiation even if there is no material
medium (like solid, liquid or as) between them.
Example of radiation is the transfer of heat energy of the sun to the earth. When we
come out in the sunshine, we feel hot. This means that the heat from the sun is
being transferred to us which makes us feel hot.
Q: Why the Sun’s heat does not reach earth by conduction or convection? What are
infra-red radiations?
Ans:
The sun is very far away from the earth and there is mainly empty space (vacuum)
between the sun and the earth.
Heat from the sun cannot reach the earth by conduction or convection because both
these processes require a material medium (like solid, liquid or gas) to transfer heat,
they cannot take place in empty space (or vacuum).
Heat from the sun reaches on the earth by the process of radiation.
The sun is an extremely hot object. The sun emits heat radiations (or heat rays) in all
directions.
These heat radiations travel through vacuum between the sun and the earth at a very
high speed and reach us on the earth. When the sun’s radiations fall on the earth and
its objects, they receive heat energy and hence get heated.
The invisible heat rays which transfer heat by radiation are called infra-red rays.
(1) When we stand next to a burning fire, we can feel the heat of the
fire falling on our face. The heat is transferred from the fire to our
face by the process of radiation.
(3) A hot utensil kept away from the flame cools down by transferring
its heat to the surroundings by radiation.
(4) Depending on the temperature of surroundings, our body too
Answer:
Dark surfaces absorb more heat and, therefore, we feel comfortable with dark
coloured clothes in the winter.
Light coloured clothes reflect most of the heat that falls on them and, therefore, we
feel more comfortable wearing them in the summer.
Q: What type of objects are considered to be good & bad emitters of radiation?
Ans:
The amount of heat which a hot object can emit (give out) by radiation also depends
on the colour of the object.
The hot objects having dark colours emit more heat radiations than the hot objects
having light colours.
Dark coloured objects absorb heat better and also emit heat better than light coloured
objects.
Dark coloured objects are poor reflectors of heat but light coloured objects are good
reflectors of heat.
(1) Colour of Clothes: People prefer to wear white clothes (or light
coloured clothes) in the hot summer days because white clothes (or
light coloured clothes) absorb less heat from the sun. White clothes (or
light coloured clothes) reflect most of the sun’s heat rays which fall on
them and keep us cool and comfortable in hot weather.
People prefer to wear dark coloured clothes in the cold winter days.
This is because dark coloured clothes absorb more heat rays from the
sun and keep us warm in winter season.
(2) Colour of Houses: The houses in hot, sunny countries are usually
painted white or with light colours from outside. This is because a
house painted white or with light colours absorbs very little sun’s heat
rays, it reflects most of the sun’s heat rays. This keeps the house cool
in the hot days of summer.
(3) Solar Cooker (and Solar Water Heater): The box of solar
Q: At a camp site there are tents of two shades. One made with black fabric and the
other with white fabric. Which one will you prefer for resting on a hot summer
afternoon? Give reason for your choice. Would you like to prefer the same tent during
winter?
Answer:
We will prefer white fabric tent in case of summer because it reflects all the radiations
from the sun and keeps us cool inside the tent.
But in case of winter, we should not use white fabric tent, we should use black fabric
tent as it absorbs all colours of light from the sun and keeps us warm inside the tent.
Q: Prove with the help of an experiment that heat radiation can travel through vacuum.
Answer:
First of all, take a flat bottom flask and fix a rubber stopper having two holes in the
mouth of the flask.
Shift a thermometer through one hole and a glass tube with stopper through the other
hole.
Now, with the help of a vacuum pump, remove the air from the flask and try to record
the temperature from the thermometer.
Put a flask in the bright sunlight and we will observe that the thermometer records a
rise in temperature.
So, on this basis, we can say that this experiment proves that the heat radiation can
travel through vacuum.
Q: Describe in detail about the occurrence of oceanic currents.
Answer:
Since, it is a fact that the water present in the ocean (near the equator) is heated by the
sun to a very higher temperature than the water near the poles of the earth.
It is due to the falling of the sun rays perpendicularly in the equatorial region. So, in
the equatorial region, the ocean water expands and becomes lighter.
While on the other side, the water in the polar region remains cold and heavy. It leads
to the flow of convection currents of heat of warm water from the equator towards the
poles.
Heat of the cold water flow from the poles towards the equator just below the surface
of ocean.
So, these types of currents are known as oceanic currents.