A system goes from state 1 to state 2 and back to state 1 following a reversible path in both directions. Which of the following statements about this process is or are true?

c. The value of w on going from state 1 to state 2 is equal in magnitude and opposite in sign to the value of w on going from state 2 back to state 1.

Video transcript

Hello everyone. So in this video we're trying to see if the given statement is true or false. So in the statement we're talking about a reversible process. If you recall a reversible process is one for which we can restore the system to its original condition with no change to the reaction. So then for a reversible reaction, the pathway from State one to State two is going to be the same as the pathway from state two to State One. Right? So with that being said, we have for the work From one going to stage two should be equal to whatever doing the reverse. That would be negative, so negative W and then going from state to back to state one. So that means that the magnitude of work done by the two pathways will be equal to each other. But of course this reaction here, the reverse will be the opposite sign. We have a negative here. So the pathways will have the same magnitude of work. Therefore, the statement given to us in the problem then is true. So this right here is going to be my final answer for this problem. Thank you all so much for watching