Modern railway tracks consist of continuous welded-steel rails of 1.0-km lengths.If the coefficient of linear expansion of steel is 11 $\times$ 10^-6 K^-1,by how much would such a rail change in length between the highest summer temperature (40ºC)and the lowest winter temperature (-40ºC)? A)44 cm B)88 cm C)0.88 mm D)1.8 mm E)4.4 cm

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The change in length ($\Delta L$) of the rail can be calculated using the formula $\Delta L = \alpha L_0 \Delta T$, where $\alpha$ is the coefficient of linear expansion ($11 \times 10^{-6} \, \text{K}^{-1}$), $L_0$ is the original length of the rail (1.0 km = 1000 m), and $\Delta T$ is the change in temperature, which is $40^\circ C - (-40^\circ C) = 80^\circ C$. Plugging in the values, we get $\Delta L = 11 \times 10^{-6} \times 1000 \times 80 = 0.88$ m, which is 88 cm.

Modern Railway Tracks Consist of Continuous Welded-Steel Rails of 1 ×\times×

Modern Railway Tracks Consist of Continuous Welded-Steel Rails of 1 $\times$