Question

Which property of mercury makes it suitable to be used as a thermometer.

Answer 1

• We all know that most metals are good conductors of heat, electricity and are solid at room temperature.
• Mercury is the only metal that is in liquid state at room temperature. It is used in thermometers because it has a high coefficient of expansion which makes it easy to move in the thermometers as per the temperatures.
• Mercury has a boiling point which makes it suitable to measure higher temperatures.
• In a mercury thermometer, a glass tube is filled with mercury and a standard temperature scale is marked. The mercury expands and contracts with the changes in the temperature.
• The mercury thermometers are used in laboratory experiments, households and industrial applications.