Consider an ideal gas enclosed in a 1.00 L container at an internal pressure of
ID: 517041 • Letter: C
Question
Consider an ideal gas enclosed in a 1.00 L container at an internal pressure of 14.0 atm. Calculate the work, w, if the gas expands against a constant external pressure of 1.00 atm to a final volume of 14.0 L. Now calculate the work done if this process is carried out in two steps. Step 1: Let the gas expand against a constant external pressure of 2.80 atm to a volume of 5.00 L. Step 2: From the end point of step 1, let the gas expand to 14.0 L against a constant external pressure of 1.00 atm. w =Explanation / Answer
A.
Work = -Pexternal*Volume change
-1 atm * (14 - 1) = -13 atm-L.
1 atm-L = 101.324999971 J
So -13 * 101.32 = -1317.16J
B.
Calculate each step individually then sum the answers.
For step 1)
-2.8 * (5-1) = -11.2atm-L
step 2)
-1 * (14-5) = -9 atm-L
Thus total work = -20.2atm-L
convert to joules,
-2046.66J