Home Physics Thermometry, Thermal Expansion and Calorimetry General A composite rod is made by joining a copper …
Physics Thermometry, Thermal Expansion and Calorimetry General Subjective Type
Published on: September 12, 2026

A composite rod is made by joining a copper rod end to end with a second rod of different material but of the same cross section. At 25º C the composite rod is 1 m in length of which the length of the copper rod is 30 cm. At 125º C the length of the composite rod increases by 1.91 mm. When the composite rod is not allowed to expand by holding it between two rigid walls it is found that the length of the two constituents do not change with the rise of temperature. Find the Young's modulus and the linear expansion of the second rod given that Young's modulus of for copper = 1.3 x 10 11 N/m 2 and the coefficient of linear expansion of copper = 1.7 x 10 -5 /º C.

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Step 1: Define the lengths of the rods and the materials. Let \( L_c = 0.30 \) m (length of the copper rod) and \( L_s = 1.00 - L_c = 0.70 \) m (length of the second rod).

Step 2: Calculate the total change in length due to temperature change. Given the total change in length of the composite rod at \( 125º C \) is \( \Delta L = 1.91 \) mm = 0.00191 m.

Step 3: The change in length of each rod due to temperature expansion can be expressed as follows:
For copper rod: \( \Delta L_c = L_c \cdot \alpha_c \cdot \Delta T \)
For second rod: \( \Delta L_s = L_s \cdot \alpha_s \cdot \Delta T \)
where \( \alpha_c = 1.7 \times 10^{-5} /ºC \) and \( \Delta T = 125 - 25 = 100º C \).

Step 4: Substitute the values for the copper rod:
\( \Delta L_c = 0.30 \cdot 1.7 \times 10^{-5} \cdot 100 \)
Calculating \( \Delta L_c \):
\( \Delta L_c = 0.30 \cdot 1.7 \times 10^{-5} \cdot 100 = 0.00051 \) m = 0.51 mm

Step 5: Since the composite rod does not expand, it implies that the change in lengths are equal:
\( \Delta L_c + \Delta L_s = \Delta L \)
Therefore, \( 0.51 + \Delta L_s = 0.00191 \)
Which implies \( \Delta L_s = 0.00191 - 0.00051 = 0.00140 \) m = 1.40 mm.

Step 6: Calculate the coefficient of linear expansion for the second rod:
Rearranging gives: \( \alpha_s = \frac{\Delta L_s}{L_s \cdot \Delta T} \)
\( \alpha_s = \frac{0.00140}{0.70 \cdot 100} = \frac{0.00140}{70} \approx 2\times10^{-5}/ºC \)

Step 7: Calculate the stress in the copper rod:
Copper's expansion produces stress on the second rod proportional to Young's modulus:
\( Y_c = \frac{F}{A} \) relationship shows stress and expansion relationship: \( \frac{F}{A} = \frac{E_c \cdot \Delta L_c}{L_c} = E_c \cdot \alpha_c \cdot \Delta T \)
Therefore, using the relationship:
\( Y_s = \frac{E_c \cdot \Delta L_c }{L_c} = \frac{1.3 \times 10^{11} \cdot 0.51 \times 10^{-3}}{0.30} \)
Gives \( Y_s \approx 2.2 \times 10^{11} N/m^2.

Final Results:
1. Coefficient of Linear Expansion of the second rod \( \alpha_s \approx 2.0 \times 10^{-5}/ºC \)
2. Young's Modulus of the second rod \( Y_s \approx 2.2 \times 10^{11} N/m^2 \)
Hence, the identified values yield the solutions sought.

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