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Homework Statement
A bag of sand of mass m= 50 kg at a temperature T = 300K falls from a height h = 10m onto the ground and
comes to an abrupt stop. For your considerations, neglect any transfer of heat between the sand and its
surroundings and assume that the sand changes its shape but not its volume. Answer (a) to (c) by giving a
general equation, then reduce it to the terms relevant to this problem.
a. What kind of dissipative work is done on the sand? What is its amount W?
b. What is the change in the internal energy U of the sand?
c. What is the entropy increase S of the sand?
d. Why is it important in these considerations to assume that the sand comes to an abrupt stop?
(The acceleration due to gravity is g = 9.81ms−1.)
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
The above problem caused me to hit a brick wall when i was looking through some past tutorial example sheets. I really need a kick in the right direction i suppose to start solving.
I know i can work out potential energy from the given data but that's as far as it goes for me. Any advice is greatly appreciated!