By what amount will a 178 m long concrete slab on the Mackinac Bridge contract when going from +39C to -35C? The linear expansion coefficient is 10^-5 per C.

Answer 1

decrease in T = 39+35 = 74 deg down

delta L = 10^-5 L (74)
= .13172 m
= 13.2 cm
or about a half a foot