Along steel i-beam used in bridge construction has a length of 15.0 m. the beam may be exposed to temperatures as low as −23°c in the winter and as high as 32°c in the summer. what is the difference in length of the beam between these two temperature extremes? (give the absolute value of the difference. enter your answer in mm.)

To solve this problem it is necessary to apply the concepts of thermal expansion. Thermal expansion can be expressed in longitudinal terms such as

Where,

Thermal Expanssion Coefficient

Initial Length

Change in Temperature

Our values are given as

from Steel

Replacing we have that,

Therefore the difference in length of the beam between these two temperature extremes is 9.911mm