Question

An underground gasoline tank can hold 1.00 ✕ 10³ gallons of gasoline at 52.0°F. If the tank is being filled on a day when the outdoor temperature (and the gasoline in a tanker truck) is 95.0°F, how many gallons from the truck can be poured into the tank? Assume the temperature of the gasoline quickly cools from 95.0°F to 52.0°F upon entering the tank.

a. 975 gallons
b. 1,000 gallons
c. 1,025 gallons
d. 1,050 gallons

Answer 1

We cannot precisely determine how many gallons from the truck can be poured into the tank without the coefficient of thermal expansion for gasoline. Temperature affects gasoline volume, causing it to expand or contract, but exact calculation requires additional information not provided in the question.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the gasoline in the tanker truck at 95.0°F is transferred to an underground tank at a lower temperature, the gasoline will cool and contract. Considering the gasoline contracts more significantly than the tank (which we'll consider as not expanding or contracting for the sake of this problem), it's important to account for the thermal expansion of gasoline when calculating how many gallons from the truck can be poured into the tank. However, to solve this problem accurately, we need to know the coefficient of thermal expansion for gasoline. Since the question does not provide the coefficients of thermal expansion necessary to compute the exact change in volume due to temperature, we cannot solve this problem with the information given.