Question

Mercury is a good conductor of heat. State true or false.
A: True
B: False

Answer 1

We know that mercury is the only metal that exists in a liquid state. It has a large value of coefficient of thermal expansion. We should keep both these points in mind before approaching this question.

Complete step by step answer:
Coefficient of thermal expansion is a property possessed by all the materials that describes the change in size with variation in the temperature. We know that mercury has a large value of the coefficient of thermal expansion. Hence, even the smallest change in temperature is evident in the shape of the mercury container. It also has an ample value for thermal conductivity. Along with all this, it also holds a very low boiling point which makes it suitable to measure higher values of temperature. All these factors make mercury a good conductor of heat and this is why it has a large application spectrum especially in measuring devices.

Hence we can say that the given statement is indeed true.Thus, option A is the correct answer.

Note: The most common application of mercury is the classic clinical thermometers. Sometimes the question can be asked about the justification of the fact that mercury is used for temperature measurement in classic thermometers. All the above properties that we mentioned can be used as an explanation for the statement. To conclude we can say that mercury is used in thermometers since it is a great conductor.