Question

A student observes that a cabinet door appears to be smaller in the winter than it is in the summer. He concludes that the particles in the wood shrinks in the cold weather Explain what is wrong with his explanation, and give a correct explanation.

Answer 1

The question can be answered as follows:

Explanation:

• The explanation is wrong because the particles in the wood cannot shrink as particles remain the same size and do not have the capacity to shrink.

• The cabinet door appears to be smaller in the winter because of the property of thermal expansion. During summer, thermal expansion occurs which causes the wood to expand. In winters, thermal expansion does not occur and hence the wood does not expand.