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Ch 19: Work, Heat, and the First Law of Thermodynamics
Chapter 19, Problem 19.61a

Two cylinders each contain 0.10 mol of a diatomic gas at 300 K and a pressure of 3.0 atm. Cylinder A expands isothermally and cylinder B expands adiabatically until the pressure of each is 1.0 atm.


a. What are the final temperature and volume of each?

Verified step by step guidance
1
Identify the initial conditions for both cylinders: initial number of moles (n = 0.10 mol), initial temperature (T_i = 300 K), and initial pressure (P_i = 3.0 atm).
For Cylinder A (isothermal process): Use the ideal gas law, PV = nRT, to find the initial volume. Since the temperature remains constant in an isothermal process, apply the formula P_iV_i = P_fV_f to find the final volume V_f, where P_f is the final pressure (1.0 atm).
For Cylinder B (adiabatic process): Use the adiabatic condition, where PV^\gamma = constant (\gamma is the heat capacity ratio, which is approximately 1.4 for diatomic gases). Use the initial conditions to find the constant, and then rearrange to find the final volume V_f using the final pressure P_f = 1.0 atm.
To find the final temperature of Cylinder B, use the adiabatic condition T_iV_i^{\gamma-1} = T_fV_f^{\gamma-1}. Solve for T_f using the known values of T_i, V_i, V_f, and \gamma.
Summarize the final conditions: For Cylinder A, the final temperature T_f is the same as the initial (300 K) and the final volume is calculated from step 2. For Cylinder B, the final temperature is calculated from step 4 and the final volume from step 3.

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Key Concepts

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

Isothermal Process

An isothermal process occurs at a constant temperature, meaning that any heat added to the system is used to do work rather than change the internal energy. For an ideal gas, this implies that the product of pressure and volume remains constant (PV = nRT). In the context of the question, cylinder A's expansion is isothermal, so its final temperature will remain at 300 K.
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Adiabatic Process

An adiabatic process is one in which no heat is exchanged with the surroundings. For an ideal gas undergoing adiabatic expansion, the relationship between pressure, volume, and temperature is governed by the adiabatic condition, which can be expressed as PV^γ = constant, where γ (gamma) is the heat capacity ratio. In cylinder B, as it expands adiabatically, its temperature will change as it does work on the surroundings.
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Ideal Gas Law

The Ideal Gas Law, represented as PV = nRT, relates the pressure (P), volume (V), number of moles (n), the ideal gas constant (R), and temperature (T) of an ideal gas. This law is fundamental for calculating the final states of gases in both isothermal and adiabatic processes. In this question, it will be used to determine the final volumes and temperatures of both cylinders after their respective expansions.
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