Internal Energy of an ideal gas

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the internal energy of an ideal gas, specifically in the context of a scenario where the temperature is held constant while the volume is reduced. The problem involves determining the change in internal energy given specific quantities of gas and initial conditions.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the relationship between internal energy and temperature, questioning how the number of degrees of freedom affects the calculation. There is a discussion about whether the change in internal energy can be zero if the temperature remains constant.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided insights regarding the constancy of temperature and its implications for internal energy. There is acknowledgment of the validity of the ideal gas assumptions, but no consensus has been reached on the interpretation of the formulas involved.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that the problem lacks information on the degrees of freedom, which is relevant for calculating internal energy. There is also mention of homework platform constraints that may influence the responses.

TFM
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[SOLVED] Internal Energy of an ideal gas

Homework Statement



The temperature of 0.158 mol of an ideal gas is held constant at 67.0 degrees Celsius while its volume is reduced to a fraction of 20.0 % of its initial volume. The initial pressure of the gas is 1.19 atm.

What is the change in its internal energy?

Homework Equations



[tex]U = \frac{1}{2}nRT[/tex] (Per degrees of Freedom)

The Attempt at a Solution



I tried putting in the values to get U, but it doesn't say how many deggress of Freedom, so I triued using three (Monatomic) But this is wrong. Is there another Formula for the Internal Energy, becasue there are several similar questions, but none seem to be used with the releveant formula above?

So any help/idea will be very greatly appreciated,

TFM
 
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hmm U depends only on T, as you can see from the equation.
And In the question, it is mentioned that T is kept constant. (n doesn't change anyway and R is a constant)

so change in U = ??
 
As there is no change intemprature, would there be no change in U, then?

TFM
 
Yes, if I'm not missing something.

This is valid for ideal gases only, though.
 
I just put 0 into MasteringPhysics, and it is the right answer. Thanksm, Raze2Dust! :smile:

Technically, the should the formula actually be:

[tex]U = \frac{1}{2}nR\Delta T[/tex] per degree of Freedom?

Thanks,

TFM
 

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