Question

Which of the following is the range of temperature recorded by a laboratory thermometer?
A. $0^\circ C$ to $100^\circ C$
B. $ - 10^\circ C$ to $110^\circ C$
C. $30^\circ C$ to $120^\circ C$
D. $45^\circ C$ to $145^\circ C$

Answer 1

Hint: The laboratory thermometers are those which are used for precise measurement of temperatures in the laboratories and experiments. In a laboratory, we may need to measure temperatures over long ranges from negative temperatures to very high temperatures.

Complete step by step answer:
In the laboratory, we may need to measure temperatures of various ranges while performing different experiments. For the purpose of measuring the temperature in experiments, we use a special thermometer called the laboratory thermometer. This thermometer is calibrated for temperatures that lie between $ - 10^\circ C$ to $110^\circ C$. This long range of temperatures is useful as we may need to deal with very hot and very cold temperatures.
Based on the above discussion, we have the range of temperature to be $ - 10^\circ C$ to $110^\circ C$ for a laboratory thermometer.

Hence, the correct answer is option B.

Additional Information
The laboratory thermometer has a bulb and a long capillary tube. The mercury used in the bulb of the thermometer expands when heated and contracts when cooled while moving along the capillary tube which is graduated from temperatures starting from $ - 10^\circ C$ to $110^\circ C$. The thermometer is very sensitive to changes in temperature and allows us to measure the value of temperature accurately.
There are also clinical thermometers which are used to measure human body temperatures but they have shorter range and are calibrated in both Fahrenheit and Celsius scales. The range of clinical thermometers is given as $35^\circ C$ to $42^\circ C$.

Note:
The clinical thermometers are different from laboratory thermometers as clinical thermometers are used to measure body temperatures. The laboratory thermometers are not used for measurement of body temperatures as mercury expands and contracts very fast in case of laboratory thermometers.