Which of the following equations best states the relationship between a material's coefficient of volume expansion due to heating, delta V, and its coefficient of linear expansion, delta L?
Since the coefficient of thermal expansion has units of deg−1 whether it's for linear, area, or volume expansion, we can eliminate C, D, and E, because the units of delta V would be wrong if any of these equations were true. Now, all you need to remember is that the coefficient of volume expansion is different from the coefficient of linear expansion to eliminate A and choose B. [In case you want to see how B is derived, notice that since each linear dimension, L, of a solid increases by delta LL(delta)T, the new volume of a heated solid, V ², is V(1 + delta L(delta)T)3 = V(1 + 3delta L(delta)T + 3delta L2(delta)T + delta L3(delta)T). Since delta L is so small, the terms involving delta L2 and delta L3 are really small and can be i