Question 1
A cylindrical cork of height H and cross-sectional area A is floating stationary in water. Its depth below the water surface is D.
Question (a)
Explain why the density of most substances in a solid state is larger than its density in a liquid state.
Water shows an anomaly with respect to what is stated in (c)(i).
Graph 1 shows the variation with temperature of the density of water between and . Graph 2 shows the same graph enlarged for the range 0 to .
Question (b)
On a winter day, the surface of a lake is frozen. The temperature of the air above the lake is . The layer of ice frozen on the surface of the lake has a thickness of 1.9 cm .
Question (i)
The thermal conductivity of ice is . Calculate the rate per unit area at which thermal energy leaves the lake by conduction through the ice layer.
Question (ii)
The depth of water below the ice is 22 m and its average initial temperature is . Estimate the minimum thermal energy per unit area that must be removed to freeze all the water in the lake.
The following data are available:
Layers of ice on lakes do not grow thicker than a small percentage of the lake's depth even when the exterior temperature remains constant below the freezing point for some time.
Question (iii)
Explain how the rate calculated in (e)(i) changes as the layer of ice grows thicker.
Question (iv)
Discuss why the anomaly in the value of the density of water supports life in water on Earth.