Calculating Thermal Expansion of a Cookware Pot

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the thermal expansion of a cookware pot made of stainless steel and copper, specifically focusing on calculating the change in diameter when heated to a high temperature. The problem involves understanding the coefficients of linear expansion for both materials and applying them to find the respective changes in dimensions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the application of the coefficient of linear expansion and the calculations performed for both materials. There are questions regarding the clarity of the problem statement and the specific requirements for the solution. Some participants suggest that the original poster clarify their calculations and the exact nature of the question being asked.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants providing feedback on the calculations and encouraging the original poster to clarify their approach. There is a focus on understanding the difference in diameter changes between the two materials, but no consensus has been reached on the correct method or final answer.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of an initial temperature and a final temperature, which are critical for the calculations. The original poster expresses uncertainty about the correctness of their answers and the next steps in the problem-solving process.

n.hirsch1
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Homework Statement


Some cookware has a stainless steel interior (alpha = 17.3 *10^- 6) and a copper bottom (alpha = 17.0 * 10^-6) for better heat distribution. Suppose an 8.0 in. pot of this construction is heated to 620 C on the stove.

Homework Equations


Delta L = alpha* Lo * delta T


The Attempt at a Solution


I used the definition of coefficient of linear expansion to find the change in diameter for both copper and stainless steel. For stainless steel I found 0.083 inches, and for copper I found 0.0812 inches. I don't know where I am supposed to go from here, this is a homework problem online, and neither of the above answers nor their difference is the correct answer.
Please help!
 
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I don't know where you are supposed to go from here either. You say your answer is incorrect, but you are not saying what the question is. Also, it would help if you showed exactly what you did. Giving a wrong answer is not enough to find where you might have gone wrong.
 
Sorry! I forgot the second part:
If the initial temperature of the pot is 23 C, what is the difference in diameter change for the copper and the steel?

All I did was plug in the numbers for the coefficient of linear expansion,
For stainless steel: L = (17.3 * 10^-6) * (8 in) * (620 C - 23 C) = 0.083
and the same method for copper, so L = 0.0812
 
You are looking for the difference between the changes. That's the difference in diameter change that the problem is asking for. You say you put a number in that was wrong. What was that number?
 
your suppose to subtract the two answers you got.
0.083-0.0812 to get the difference in diameters.
You might want to check you calculations too.
 

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