Adiabatic Expansion: Relating T & P with dT/dP

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the relationship between temperature and pressure during the adiabatic expansion of an ideal gas, specifically focusing on deriving the differential equation dT/dP = (2/f+2)(T/P).

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to manipulate the ideal gas law and related equations to express temperature in terms of pressure. Some participants suggest using substitutions and derivatives to progress towards the desired relationship, while others question the steps involved in taking the derivative.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the mathematical aspects of the problem, exploring different forms of the equations and discussing the implications of taking derivatives. There is a focus on clarifying the process of differentiation and how it relates to the overall expression for temperature as a function of pressure.

Contextual Notes

There is an indication of confusion regarding the application of derivatives and the manipulation of constants in the equations, which may affect the clarity of the discussion. The participants are working within the constraints of the homework problem, which requires a specific relationship to be shown without providing a complete solution.

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Homework Statement



Show that when an ideal gas expands adiabatically, the temperature and pressure are related by the differential equation: dT/dP = (2/f+2)(T/P).

Homework Equations



PV=NkT
VT^(f/2) = constant
V^(gamma)*P = constant

The Attempt at a Solution



I started off with the formula for ideal gases, PV=NkT.

I rearranged to get T=(PV/Nk).

At this point I don't know where to go. I don't see any equations I can use to make substitutions and I'm not sure if I should take the derivative at this point or not?
 
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Use the ideal gas law to replace V in the second "relevant equation" that you posted.
Solve for T in terms of p.
Take the required derivative dT/dp.
 
Okay. I'm getting a little tripped up at the derivative part. I have at this point:

T = (c/Nk*P)^(2/f+2) , where c is a constant

Taking the derivative will bring down the 2/f+2, but that leaves me with (2/f+2)-1 as the exponent plus the derivative of the inside.
 
A constant is a constant is a constant so you can write

T=CP^{\frac{2}{f+2}}

Then you say that

\frac{dT}{dP}=C\frac{2}{f+2}\:P^{\frac{2}{f+2}-1}

I am not sure what you mean by "the derivative of the inside." What do you get when you simplify the exponent? How is that related to the expression of T as a function of P?
 

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