What is the change in length of a 2.80 cm long column of mercury if its temperature changes from 37.4°C to 41.2°C, assuming the mercury is constrained to a cylinder but unconstrained in length? Your answer will show why thermometers contain bulbs at the bottom instead of simple columns of liquid. The coefficient of volume expansion for mercury is 1.80 × 10⁻⁴ 1/°C.

Volume expansion is defined for liquids, but linear and area expansion are not, as a liquid's changes in linear dimensions and area