IMO Practice Test — Temperature and its Measurement
6 Questions • 15 min • Olympiad level
15:00
Question 1 of 6
One hand is kept in warm water and the other in cold water, then both are put in the same lukewarm water. The lukewarm water feels:
The same to both hands
Cold to one hand and warm to the other
Hot to both hands
Cold to both hands
Explanation: This classic test shows touch is unreliable: the same water feels different to each hand.
Question 2 of 6
A clinical thermometer reads up to 42°C. It cannot measure the temperature of boiling milk because boiling milk is about:
0°C
37°C
100°C
20°C
Explanation: Boiling milk is near 100°C, far above the clinical thermometer's range.
Question 3 of 6
Why does the liquid rise up the tube of a thermometer when the bulb is warmed?
The liquid expands on heating
The glass shrinks
The liquid turns solid
Light pushes it up
Explanation: Heating makes the liquid expand, so it rises up the thin tube.
Question 4 of 6
A laboratory thermometer has NO kink, unlike a clinical one. This is because it is:
Read while still in contact with what it measures
Only for the human body
Always digital
Never used
Explanation: A lab thermometer is read in place, so it needs no kink to hold the reading after removal.
Question 5 of 6
Two thermometers show 30°C and 86°F for two objects. Given 30°C = 86°F, the objects are:
At the same temperature
At different temperatures
Both frozen
Both boiling
Explanation: Different scales can show the same hotness with different numbers; here they are equal.
Question 6 of 6
A nurse must shake a clinical thermometer down before reuse mainly to:
Bring the liquid back below body temperature for a fresh reading
Clean the glass
Warm it up
Change the scale
Explanation: The kink holds the previous reading, so it must be shaken down before the next measurement.