Question

State the advantages and disadvantages of mercury and alcohol as thermometric liquids.

Answer 1

Advantages of mercury and alcohol as thermometric liquid are
(a). They both are good conductors of heat.
(b). They have a high coefficient of expansion thus are sensitive to the smallest change in temperature
(c). Their freezing points are very low and boiling point is high in case of mercury
Disadvantages
(d). Alcohol is transparent and this makes hard to read the thermometer.
(e). It does not have uniform expansion.
(f). Mercury is less sensitive than alcohol as its coefficient of expansion is less than alcohol.
(g). Alcohol is a volatile liquid.