Calculating Work Done by Ideal Gas at Constant Pressure: PV Diagram Analysis

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the work done by an ideal gas during a heating process at constant pressure. The original poster expresses difficulty due to a lack of initial pressure and volume data, which complicates the application of the ideal gas law.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Conceptual clarification

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the relationship between work done and the area under the PV curve, with some suggesting the use of the formula W=P(Vf-Vi) for constant pressure. Others question how to derive volumes without initial pressure and explore the implications of using the ideal gas law.

Discussion Status

There is an ongoing exploration of different approaches to the problem, with some participants offering insights into the relationship between heat, work, and internal energy. However, no consensus has been reached, and multiple interpretations of the problem are being considered.

Contextual Notes

Participants note constraints such as the absence of initial pressure and volume values, as well as the assumption of no heat loss during the process. The discussion also touches on the implications of constant pressure on internal energy and work done.

Punkyc7
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Two moles of an ideal gas are heated at constant pressure from a temperature of 29C to 110C.
calculate the work done by the gas


So work is the area under the PV curve, the only problem is I have no volume or intital pressure so PV=nRT doesn't help. Then I was thinking about Q= delta U -W but that doesn't seem to help.


How should I go about this problem because I am stuck?
 
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The work done in general is

[itex]W=\int PdV[/itex]

With constant pressure, this simplifies to

[itex]W=P(V_{f}-V{i})[/itex]

where Vf and Vi are the final and initial volumes respectively. You can find these volumes by using the fact that the pressure P is constant (both volumes will have P in the denominator which will be eliminated from the expression above)
 
Punkyc7 said:
Two moles of an ideal gas are heated at constant pressure from a temperature of 29C to 110C.
calculate the work done by the gas


So work is the area under the PV curve, the only problem is I have no volume or intital pressure so PV=nRT doesn't help. Then I was thinking about Q= delta U -W but that doesn't seem to help.


How should I go about this problem because I am stuck?

Well if the work done by a gas at constant pressure is given by W=P(V2-V1) how would this translate if you replace PV with nRT? (with the appropriate subscript)
 
Punkyc7 said:
Two moles of an ideal gas are heated at constant pressure from a temperature of 29C to 110C.
calculate the work done by the gasSo work is the area under the PV curve, the only problem is I have no volume or intital pressure so PV=nRT doesn't help. Then I was thinking about Q= delta U -W but that doesn't seem to help.How should I go about this problem because I am stuck?

Hi! Here are my two cents!

If there is no heat loss or particle loss in this process, then given the pressure is constant, therefore internal energy of the gas, delta-U, is zero, which, translates to, heat that flowed in, delta-Q, equals to W, the work done by the gas (i.e. expansion).

Therefore, avg KE increase in gas (reflected as temp increase) shall equal to the heat energy that flowed in, in turns, shall equal to the work done by the gas in expansion.

Equationally speaking:
W=Q=Delta-KE=n*(3/2)*R*Delta-T
(where "n" is number of moles of gas, "R" is ideal gas constant, and "Delta-T" is temperature difference in K and it's equal to temp difference in C).Maybe I am wrong (please correct me if so!).. :)
 

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