Which of the following materials is likely to exhibit significant thermal expansion?

The material that is likely to exhibit significant thermal expansion is glass. Glass, especially in the form commonly used in windows or containers, has a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion compared to many other materials. This means that as glass is subjected to changes in temperature, it will expand or contract more noticeably than materials like steel, concrete, or wood.

Thermal expansion occurs when materials are heated; the atoms within the material move more vigorously, leading to an increase in the distance between them. For materials like glass, which can be uniform and isotropic in structure, this expansion can be uniform throughout the volume of the material, making it particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations.

While steel, concrete, and wood do expand when heated, their rates of thermal expansion are typically lower than that of glass, and each material can behave differently under thermal stress. For instance, concrete has a lower coefficient of thermal expansion and can crack if not designed to accommodate expansion. Steel has some expansion but is often used in construction where its strength plays a critical role, while wood can change dimensions with humidity as well as temperature, but its response is less uniform compared to glass.