Q.Select the correct one: Internal energy does not include:
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The First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy is Never Lost
Imagine you have a cup of hot tea. Leave it on the table, and it cools down. Where does the heat go? It doesn't vanish — it warms the air around the cup. That's the core idea: energy can change form and move from place to place, but it cannot be created or destroyed.
This is the First Law of Thermodynamics. It's simply the law of conservation of energy, applied to systems where heat and work are involved.
The Intuition: Your Bank Account Analogy
Think of a system (say, a gas in a cylinder) as having an energy bank account. The balance in that account is its internal energy (U). You can change that balance in only two ways:
- Deposit heat (q) — put the cylinder on a hot plate. Energy flows in.
- Do work on it (w) — push the piston down, compressing the gas. Energy flows in as mechanical work.
If you do both, the total change in the account is simply the sum of the two deposits:
Change in internal energy = Heat added + Work done on the system
That's it. The internal energy goes up by exactly what you put in. If you reverse the signs — the system does work on the surroundings (piston expands) or loses heat (cools down) — the internal energy drops by that amount.
The Precise Statement
For a closed system (no matter enters or leaves), the First Law is:
ΔU=q+w
Where:
- ΔU = change in internal energy of the system
- q = heat added to the system (positive if heat flows in)
- w = work done on the system (positive if work is done on it)
Sign conventions are the #1 source of confusion. In chemistry and most physics contexts, w is positive when work is done on the system (compression). In some engineering contexts, the sign convention is reversed. Stick with one — the one above is standard for Indian exams (NCERT, JEE, NEET).
What This Means Physically
If you add 100 J of heat to a gas and also do 50 J of work compressing it, the internal energy rises by 150 J:
ΔU=(+100)+(+50)=+150 J
If instead the gas expands and does 30 J of work on the surroundings while absorbing 80 J of heat:
ΔU=(+80)+(−30)=+50 J
The internal energy still increased, but less than the heat added, because some of that energy left as work. …
Internal energy is the sum of all energies intrinsic to a system's own molecules; it does not include energy arising from the system's position in an external field. …
Internal energy includes translational, rotational, vibrational, electronic and nuclear (bond) energies of a system's particles, but excludes external positional energy such as gravitational potential energy.
The internal energy (U) of a system is the sum of all forms of energy associated with the motion and arrangement of the molecules/atoms that make up the system: kinetic energy from molecular translation, rotation, and vibration, plus potential energy from chemical bonds (which is related to nuclear/electronic energy). These are all energies the system possesses on its own, regardless of its surroundings.
…
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.In a process, 701 J of heat is absorbed by a system and 394 J of work is done by the system. The change in internal energy is(a) -307 J(b) 307 J(c) -1095 J(d) 1095 J
›Reveal solutionSolution
Apply the first law of thermodynamics: delta U = q + w, where q is heat given TO the system (positive if absorbed) and w is work done ON the system (negative if the system does work on the surroundings).
Given:
q = +701 J (heat absorbed BY the system, so positive by IUPAC sign convention). …
- CBSE 2025Set sz1 markMCQQ.Select the correct one: Internal energy does not include:(a) Nuclear energy(b) Vibrational energy(c) Rotational energy(d) Energy of gravitational pull
›Reveal solutionSolution
Internal energy includes translational, rotational, vibrational, electronic and nuclear (bond) energies of a system's particles, but excludes external positional energy such as gravitational potential energy.
The internal energy (U) of a system is the sum of all forms of energy associated with the motion and arrangement of the molecules/atoms that make up the system: kinetic energy from molecular translation, rotation, and vibration, plus potential energy from chemical bonds (which is related to nuclear/electronic energy). These are all energies the system possesses on its own, regardless of its surroundings.
…
- CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Write the mathematical expression of the first law of thermodynamics.
›Reveal solutionSolution
The first law of thermodynamics is expressed as delta U = q + w -- the change in internal energy equals heat absorbed plus work done on the system.
The first law of thermodynamics (law of conservation of energy) states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only converted from one form to another. For a closed system, if q is the heat absorbed by the system and w is the …
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.For the reaction, CO(g) + 1/2 O2(g) → CO2(g), which of the following is correct?(a) ΔH = ΔE(b) ΔH < ΔE(c) ΔH > ΔE(d) None of these
›Reveal solutionSolution
Since the number of gas moles decreases in this reaction, ΔH < ΔE.
The relation between enthalpy change and internal energy change is ΔH=ΔE+ΔngRT, where Δng = (moles of gaseous products) − (moles of gaseous reactants).
For CO(g)+21O2(g)→CO2(g):
Δng=1−(1+0.5)=−0.5
…
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Mathematical statement of first law of thermodynamics is:(a) ΔU = q + w(b) ΔU = q × w(c) ΔU = -q - w(d) ΔU = w - q
›Reveal solutionSolution
The first law of thermodynamics states that the change in internal energy of a system equals the heat added to the system plus the work done on the system: ΔU = q + w.
This is simply energy conservation: any energy that flows into a system, whether as heat (q) or as work done on it (w), must show up as a change in its internal energy (ΔU). None of the other options (ΔU = q×w, ΔU = −q−w, ΔU = …
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markQ.According to the first law of thermodynamics, "Energy of an isolated system is ___________."
›Reveal solutionSolution
[!TLDR]
constant
Method
The first law of thermodynamics is the law of conservation of energy: the total energy of an …
- CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Mathematical statement of first law of thermodynamics is:(a) ΔU = q + w(b) ΔU = q × w(c) ΔU = -q - w(d) ΔU = w - q
›Reveal solutionSolution
The first law states energy can neither be created nor destroyed; mathematically ΔU = q + w.
The first law of thermodynamics is a statement of the law of conservation of energy: the change in internal energy of a system equals the heat supplied to it plus the work done on it.
ΔU=q+w
…
- CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.In an endothermic reaction, the value of ΔH is always(a) equal to zero(b) greater than zero(c) less than zero(d) constant
›Reveal solutionSolution
Endothermic reactions absorb heat, so ΔH>0 always.
Enthalpy change ΔH=Hproducts−Hreactants. In an endothermic reaction, heat is absorbed from the surroundings, meaning the products end up at a higher energy (enthalpy) than the reactants. Hence Hproducts>Hreactants, which …
- CBSE 2021Set annual21 markQ.What is Internal Energy?
›Reveal solutionSolution
Internal energy is the total energy contained in a system due to molecular motion and molecular interactions; it is a state function.
Every system is made up of a very large number of molecules. Internal energy (U) is defined as the sum of the kinetic energy (translational, rotational, vibrational motion of molecules) and the potential energy (arising from intermolecular forces of attraction/repulsion, and chemical bond energy) of all the particles making up the system.
Key points:
- U is an extensive property (depends on the amount of substance) and a state function (depends only on the initial and final state of the system, not on the path followed).
- Only the change in internal energy, ΔU = U_final - U_initial, can be experimentally measured; the absolute value of U cannot be determined. …
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