What is the change in internal energy for an ideal gas that expands isothermally
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the change in internal energy for an ideal gas that expands isothermally? (2019)
nRT
0
-nRT
nR(Tf - Ti)
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the change in internal energy for an ideal gas that expands isothermally? (2019)
Step 1: Understand what an ideal gas is. An ideal gas is a theoretical gas that follows the gas laws perfectly under all conditions.
Step 2: Know what isothermal means. Isothermal means that the temperature of the gas remains constant during the process.
Step 3: Recall the definition of internal energy (U). Internal energy is the total energy contained within a system, which depends on the temperature of the gas.
Step 4: Recognize that for an ideal gas, the internal energy is only dependent on temperature. If the temperature does not change, the internal energy does not change.
Step 5: Conclude that during an isothermal expansion of an ideal gas, since the temperature is constant, the change in internal energy (ΔU) is zero.
