Question

4. Explain why a Galileo thermometer is:
a. not very quick to measure temperatures.
b. not very accurate.

Answer 1

Explanation:

• the Galileo thermometer operates on the principle of buoyancy, the phenomenon by which objects of greater density than their surroundings sink and less-dense ones float. For instance, the ball marked at 78 degrees F will be just slightly less dense than tube liquid at that temperature, causing it to float.
• The clear liquid in which the bulbs are submerged is not water, but some organic compound (such as ethanol) the density of which varies with temperature more than water does. Temperature changes affect the density of the outer clear liquid and this causes the bulbs to rise or sink.