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Ch 19: Work, Heat, and the First Law of Thermodynamics
Chapter 19, Problem 19

An ideal-gas process is described by p=cV^ /2, where c is a constant. b. 0.033 mol of gas at an initial temperature of 150°C is compressed, using this process, from 300 cm^3 to 200 cm^3. How much work is done on the gas?

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1
Convert the initial and final volumes from cm^3 to m^3 by multiplying by 10^{-6}, since 1 cm^3 = 10^{-6} m^3.
Use the ideal gas law, pV = nRT, to find the initial pressure. Convert the temperature from Celsius to Kelvin by adding 273.15.
Substitute the initial pressure and volume into the given equation p = cV^{1/2} to solve for the constant c.
With the constant c known, use the equation p = cV^{1/2} to find the pressure at the final volume.
Calculate the work done on the gas during compression using the formula for work done in a variable pressure process: W = \int_{V_i}^{V_f} p(V) dV, where V_i and V_f are the initial and final volumes, respectively, and p(V) is the pressure as a function of volume.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Ideal Gas Law

The Ideal Gas Law relates the pressure, volume, temperature, and number of moles of an ideal gas through the equation PV = nRT. This law is fundamental in understanding gas behavior under various conditions and is essential for calculating changes in state variables during processes like compression.
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Work Done on a Gas

In thermodynamics, the work done on a gas during a volume change is calculated using the formula W = -∫PdV, where P is the pressure and dV is the change in volume. This concept is crucial for determining how much energy is transferred to or from the gas during processes such as compression or expansion.
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Constant c in the Process Equation

In the given process equation p = cV^2, the constant c represents a proportionality factor that relates pressure to the square of volume. Understanding how this relationship affects the pressure during the compression process is key to calculating the work done on the gas, as it influences the pressure at different volumes.
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