What happens to the internal energy of an ideal gas during an isothermal expansion? (2021)
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What happens to the internal energy of an ideal gas during an isothermal expansion? (2021)
Increases
Decreases
Remains constant
Depends on the amount of gas
During an isothermal expansion of an ideal gas, the internal energy remains constant because the temperature does not change.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: What happens to the internal energy of an ideal gas during an isothermal expansion? (2021)
Solution: During an isothermal expansion of an ideal gas, the internal energy remains constant because the temperature does not change.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what isothermal means. Isothermal means that the temperature of the gas stays the same during the process.
Step 2: Know what internal energy is. Internal energy is the total energy contained within the gas due to the motion and arrangement of its molecules.
Step 3: Remember that for an ideal gas, the internal energy depends only on temperature. If the temperature does not change, the internal energy does not change.
Step 4: During isothermal expansion, the gas expands and does work on its surroundings, but it also absorbs heat to keep the temperature constant.
Step 5: Since the temperature is constant, the internal energy of the ideal gas remains constant during the isothermal expansion.
