Heat required to increase the temperature

AI Thread Summary
To increase the temperature of 1 mole of nitrogen gas by 10 degrees Celsius, the heat required at constant volume is approximately 70 calories, accounting for all degrees of freedom: translational, rotational, and vibrational. The initial calculation underestimated the degrees of freedom by treating nitrogen as a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator. For constant pressure, the heat required is about 90 calories, which includes an additional 20 calories due to the difference in heat capacities. The discussion clarifies the contributions of translational and rotational motions, leading to a total of seven degrees of freedom. Understanding these concepts is crucial for accurately calculating heat requirements in thermodynamic processes.
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Homework Statement


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At high temperatures the nitrogen molecule behaves like a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator. In this situation, estimate how much heat must be added to the system in order to increase the temperature of 1 mole of nitrogen gas by 10 degrees Celsius (for constant volume and constant pressure respectively). Take into account all degrees of freedom: translational, rotational and vibrational.

Homework Equations


Average energy per degree of freedom: ##kT/2##

The Attempt at a Solution


A one-dimensional harmonic oscillator has two degrees of freedom, therefore according to the equipartition theorem the average energy of a nitrogen molecule must be ##kT##. One mole of nitrogen has ##N_A## molecules and so the total internal energy of the gas is ##U=N_A k T##. Therefore if the process is isochoric the amount of heat we need to add to the system in order to increase the temperature by 10 degrees is
$$dQ=N_A k dT=N_A k \cdot 10\text{K} \approx 19.8 \text{cal}$$
However the correct answer is ##70 \text{cal}## and I don't understand why.
Also, I have no idea how to find the heat for the case of an isobaric process since this is not an ideal gas (the answer for constant pressure case is ##90 \text{cal}##).
 
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First of all, a nitrogen molecule is not a one dimensional harmonic oscillator. You are missing a lot of degrees of freedom by this assumption.
 
Orodruin said:
First of all, a nitrogen molecule is not a one dimensional harmonic oscillator. You are missing a lot of degrees of freedom by this assumption.
But that's how the question was formulated. It's not my assumption.
 
It is an oscillator that in addition can translate and rotate. Only the vibrational spectrum is described by an actual harmonic oscillator.
 
Orodruin said:
It is an oscillator that in addition can translate and rotate. Only the vibrational spectrum is described by an actual harmonic oscillator.
Oh I see. So the translational motion contributes 3 degrees of freedom whereas the rotational contributes 2. Therefore there are 7 degrees of freedom and the heat required is approximately 70cal, as expected.
But what about the constant pressure case? How can I approach this problem?
Thank you.
Edit: nevermind. I think the reason why it's ##90 \text{cal}## for constant pressure case is because ##C_p-C_v=2 \frac{\text{cal}}{\text{mol}\,\text{K}}## for nitrogen (apparently it does behave approximately as an ideal gas). So it requires additional $$\left(2 \,\frac{\text{cal}}{\text{mol}\,\text{K}} \right )\cdot (10 \,\text{K})=20 \,\frac{\text{cal}}{\text{mol}}$$ heat for constant pressure case.
 
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