For the study of thermal expansion in various materials it is necessary to know the coefficient of linear expansion, but in some cases it is difficult to measure the final temperature of the sample under consideration. We present a low-cost experimental setup in order to show a teaching methodology to address the problem of measuring this final temperature. The methodology uses materials that are easy to find, and the positive result are described in this paper. The value of the experimentally measured thermal expansion coefficient for copper of was (1,70 +0,32) x10-5 °C-1.
thermal expansion; thermal expansion coefficient; low-cost materials
