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Difficulty: EasyThermal Expansion and Contraction

Engineers install expansion joints to leave small gaps between the solid metal sections of a long bridge. What will happen to the size of these gaps as the temperature drops significantly during the winter?

  1. The gaps will become wider because the metal sections contract.Answer
  2. B
    The gaps will become narrower because the metal sections expand.
  3. C
    The gaps will remain the same size because temperature does not affect structural metals.
  4. D
    The gaps will become narrower because the cold causes the metal sections to compress toward each other.

Answer

The gaps will become wider because the metal sections contract.
When the temperature drops, metal loses thermal energy and its atoms move slightly closer together. This causes the entire metal section to contract (shrink in length). Because the metal sections are taking up less physical space along the length of the bridge, the open gaps between these sections become wider.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the effect of a significant temperature drop on solid metal.
The metal will undergo thermal contraction, meaning its overall length will decrease.
Most materials, including metals, contract when cooled due to reduced kinetic energy of their atoms.
2
Relate the contraction of the metal sections to the size of the gap between them.
If the individual metal sections become shorter, the open space (gap) between their ends must become larger.
The total length of the bridge structure includes both the metal sections and the gaps; as the metal takes up less space, the empty gap space increases.

Key Concept

Thermal Expansion and Contraction
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Topics

Thermal Expansion and Contraction

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