Q.(a) Write the equation of an isothermal process.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →An isothermal process is one carried out at constant temperature. Since the ideal gas equation is PV = nRT, holding T (and the amount of gas n) fixed makes the right-hand side a constant, so pressure and volume must vary inversely — this is Boyle's law, and it is the defining equation of an isothermal process.
Starting point — the ideal gas equation
For n moles of an ideal gas,
where R is the universal gas constant.
Applying the isothermal condition
In an isothermal process, temperature T is held constant throughout, and the amount of gas n does not change. Since n, R, and T are all constant, the product nRT is a fixed number. Therefore
So for two states (1) and (2) of the same isothermal process,
This is Boyle's law, and it is exactly the equation of an isothermal process — on a P–V diagram it traces out a hyperbola (an isotherm).
Work done in an isothermal process (often asked alongside this equation)
For a reversible isothermal expansion/compression from volume V₁ to V₂,
Since internal energy of an ideal gas depends only on temperature, ΔU = 0 for any isothermal process; by the first law of thermodynamics (Q = ΔU + W), all the heat absorbed goes entirely into the work done: Q = W.
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