A 30 m steel bridge span heats from −10 °C in winter to 40 °C in summer (α ≈ 1.2×10⁻⁵ per °C). Estimate how much longer it gets, in centimetres.

Physics I / Temperature and Thermal Properties of Matter

Practice question · Estimate

A 30 m steel bridge span heats from −10 °C in winter to 40 °C in summer ( $\alpha \approx 1.2\times10^{-5}$ per °C). Estimate how much longer it gets, in centimetres.

Estimate on a scale from 0 cm (0) to 10 cm (10).

Hints

$\Delta L = \alpha L \Delta T$ with $\Delta T = 50$ °C.
$1.2\times10^{-5} \times 30 \times 50 = 1.8\times10^{-2}$ m.

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1.8 (answers within ±0.5 count)

Why

About 1.8 cm, small in fraction, unstoppable in force. Expansion joints (those toothed gaps you drive over) exist to give these centimetres somewhere to go.

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A 30 m steel bridge span heats from −10 °C in winter to 40 °C in summer (α≈1.2×10−5\alpha \approx 1.2\times10^{-5}α≈1.2×10−5 per °C). Estimate how much longer it gets, in centimetres.

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More questions on Temperature and Thermal Properties of Matter

A 30 m steel bridge span heats from −10 °C in winter to 40 °C in summer ( $\alpha \approx 1.2\times10^{-5}$ per °C). Estimate how much longer it gets, in centimetres.