A sealed, frictionless piston contains of an ideal monatomic gas. Four possible…

PHYSICS · Multi-part · AP · Physics 2: Algebra-based · Thermodynamics · Thermodynamics

Problem

A sealed, frictionless piston contains

1.0\,\text{mol}

of an ideal monatomic gas. Four possible equilibrium states of the gas are listed below. The amount of gas remains the same in every state. • State A:

T=300\,\text{K}

V=1.0\,\text{L}

• State B:

T=300\,\text{K}

V=2.0\,\text{L}

• State C:

T=600\,\text{K}

V=1.0\,\text{L}

• State D:

T=600\,\text{K}

V=2.0\,\text{L}

(a) Rank the four states from lowest entropy to highest entropy. (b) Justify the order you selected by referring separately to how temperature and volume each influence the entropy of an ideal gas. (c) For the pair of states you ranked adjacent to each other, indicate which variable (temperature or volume) was primarily responsible for the difference in entropy and explain how you reached that conclusion.

Related theory

Second Law & Entropy
The second law of thermodynamics
Thermodynamics
Second law and Carnot cycle
Second law of thermodynamics

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