Name: Concept of Heat and Temperature
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 4 min 43 s
Description: Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses hot and cold or measures the average kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules in the system. Learn more.

Question

State two differences between a laboratory thermometer and a clinical thermometer. Give the reason for each difference.

Accepted Answer

Similarities:

Both laboratory and clinical thermometer are using mercury as a thermometric substance to read the temperature.

Both are used to measuring the temperature.

Clinical Thermometer
Laboratory thermometer Reason

Its temperature range is $35 - 42$ degree centigrade. Its temperature range is $- 10 - 110$ degree centigrade. The clinical thermometer is used to measure body temperature, however, laboratory thermometer is not used for the purpose of measuring body temperature. So the range is different.

It is used to measure human body temperature. It is used to measure temperature of the substances in the laboratory. Both are having different ranges in the thermometer suitable for the place of use.

It has kink which prevents immediate backflow of mercury. It does not have a kink. Usually, the function of the kink in the thermometer is to break the flowing connection of mercury in the capillary and the bulb area at the lower end of thermometer. In laboratory thermometer, the temperature is measured continuously to note temperature change. Thus, the continuous movement of mercury is required without any flow break. Therefore, a laboratory thermometer does not have a kink.

State two differences between a laboratory thermometer and a clinical thermometer. Give the reason for each difference.

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