PV Diagram help - Monatomic ideal gas change of state

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a problem involving a monatomic ideal gas transitioning between states on a PV diagram. Participants are tasked with calculating the work done on the gas, the change in internal energy, and the heat flow during the process.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the necessity of knowing the number of moles and temperature to calculate the change in internal energy. There is a suggestion to consider the temperature difference instead.

Discussion Status

The conversation includes attempts to clarify the relationship between internal energy and temperature, with some participants questioning the original poster's approach. One participant indicates they have resolved their confusion, suggesting some productive guidance has been exchanged.

Contextual Notes

There is an ongoing discussion about the implications of not knowing certain variables, such as the number of moles and temperature, which are critical for calculating internal energy changes.

prj
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Homework Statement


Suppose a monatomic ideal gas is changed from state A to state D by one of the processes shown on the PV diagram (attached). a) Find the total work done on the gas if it follows the constant volume path A-B followed by the constant pressure path B-C-D. b)Calculate the total change in internal energy of the gas during the entire process and the total heat flow into the gas.

Homework Equations



W= -P(Vf-Vi)
dU = Q + W
dU = 3/2nRT

The Attempt at a Solution


I found the answer to part A to be 1215.6 J of work were done on the gas. My problem comes in part b. How can I determine the change in internal energy without knowing the number of moles (n) of the gas, or the temperature?
 

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Do you really need n to calculate the change in internal energy? Remember that U depends only on temperature, so what is the temperaure difference?
 
prj said:
dU = 3/2nRT

How can I determine the change in internal energy without knowing the number of moles (n) of the gas, or the temperature?

Shouldn't that be dU = 3/2nRdT? Or ΔU = Δ(3/2nRT)? Maybe you can use the ideal gas law to write this in terms of P and V rather than nRT.
 
I think I was over-complicating the problem, but I've solved it now.

Thank you for the help!
 

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