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NCERT Exemplar · Q49

Q.1.0 mol of a monoatomic ideal gas is expanded from state

(1) to state
(2) as shown in Fig. 6.4. Calculate the work done for the expansion of gas from state
(1) to state
(2) at 298 K.
Fig. 6.4 — pressure-volume plot of the expansion: State (1) at 2.0 bar and 22.7 L, following the isotherm down to State (2) at 1.0 bar
Figure 6.4
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For a reversible isothermal expansion of an ideal gas, the work done by the gas equals nRTln⁡(V2/V1)nRT \ln(V_2/V_1) because temperature (and hence internal energy) stays constant. Here w=−1718 Jw = -1718 \,\text{J} (negative because the gas does work on the surroundings).

Why this approach works

In an isothermal process the temperature remains fixed, so for an ideal gas the internal energy UU does not change (ΔU=0\Delta U = 0). The first law then tells us that all the heat absorbed goes entirely into doing work: q=−wq = -w.

For a reversible path the external pressure tracks the gas pressure infinitesimally closely at every instant, pext=p=nRTVp_{\text{ext}} = p = \frac{nRT}{V}. The work is then the integral of p dVp \, dV from the initial to the final volume, and because TT is constant we can pull nRTnRT out front and integrate dVV\frac{dV}{V} to get a logarithm. That logarithm can be written in terms of the volume ratio V2/V1V_2/V_1 or equivalently the pressure ratio p1/p2p_1/p_2 (since pV=const.pV = \text{const.} at fixed TT).


Step-by-step calculation

1. Recognize the process type.

The expansion is both reversible and isothermal at T=298 KT = 298 \,\text{K}. We have n=1.0 moln = 1.0 \,\text{mol}, p1=2 barp_1 = 2 \,\text{bar}, p2=1 barp_2 = 1 \,\text{bar}, so V2V1=p1p2=2\frac{V_2}{V_1} = \frac{p_1}{p_2} = 2.

2. Write the work formula for reversible isothermal expansion.

The work done by the gas (our sign convention: work done by the system is negative) is

w=−∫V1V2pext dV=−∫V1V2nRTV dV.w = - \int_{V_1}^{V_2} p_{\text{ext}} \, dV = - \int_{V_1}^{V_2} \frac{nRT}{V} \, dV.

Because TT is constant,

w=−nRT∫V1V2dVV=−nRTln⁡(V2V1).w = -nRT \int_{V_1}^{V_2} \frac{dV}{V} = -nRT \ln\left(\frac{V_2}{V_1}\right).

w=−nRTln⁡(V2V1)=−nRTln⁡(p1p2).w = -nRT \ln\left(\frac{V_2}{V_1}\right) = -nRT \ln\left(\frac{p_1}{p_2}\right).

3. Substitute the numbers.

Take R=8.314 J mol−1K−1R = 8.314 \,\text{J mol}^{-1}\text{K}^{-1}, n=1.0 moln=1.0 \,\text{mol}, T=298 KT=298\,\text{K}, and ln⁡(2)≈0.693\ln(2) \approx 0.693.

w=−(1.0)(8.314)(298)ln⁡(2)=−2477.6×0.693≈−1717 J.w = - (1.0)(8.314)(298) \ln(2) = - 2477.6 \times 0.693 \approx -1717 \,\text{J}. …

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