1. A cylinder contains 20 liters of air at 1.00 atm. The ratio of CP to CV for air is 1.41.

If this sample of air

is compressed adiabatically to a volume of 5 liters, the pressure becomes
A)

9.7 atm

B)

4.0 atm

C)

7.1 atm

D)

8.4 atm

E)

2.7 atm

solution:
When an ideal gas undergoes an adiabatic process the product P V

20
(1)(20 ) = P (5 ), and P is
which is 41.41 = 7.1 atm.
5
The correct answer is: C

stays the same.

is

CP
. So
CV

2. An example of a thermometric property is

A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

the electrical resistance of an electrical conductor.

the length of a column of mercury.
All of these are correct.
the pressure of a confined gas.
the volume of a gas.

The correct answer is: C

3. The equipartition theorem
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

fails to explain the fact that monatomic atoms do not rotate about any of three possible
mutually perpendicular axes.
fails to predict correctly the heat capacities of solids at high temperatures.
does not acknowledge the quantization of energy.
is unable to account for the dependency of heat capacities on temperature.
is described by all of these

The correct answer is: E

4. An ideal gas undergoes a cyclic process in which total (positive) work W is done by the gas. What total
heat is added to the gas in one cycle?
A)

2W

B)

C)

zero

D)

-W

E)

W /2

solution:
The First Law says that the heat in is equal to the work done plus the increase in internal energy. In any
complete cycle the internal energy does not change so the heat in is the same as the work done.
The correct answer is: B
5. The first law of thermodynamics is most closely related to
A)
D)

the definition of absolute zero.

the definition of an ideal gas.

B)
E)

the conservation of energy.

thermal expansion.

C)

the conservation of momentum.

The correct answer is: B

6. An ideal gas can absorb heat without changing temperature if at the same time
A)
C)
E)

it does sufficient work in expanding.

it is confined by an adiabatic envelope.
it is kept at constant volume.

B)
D)

solution:

it is at its critical temperature.

it is slowly compressed.

The First Law says that the heat in is equal to the work done plus the increase in internal energy. The
internal energy of an ideal gas depends only on its temperature so does not change if the temperature
does not change. So the heat in must be the same as the work done; work is only done by expanding.
The correct answer is: A
7. An ideal gas initially at 100 C and pressure P1 = 250 kPa occupies a volume V1 =.00450 m3 . It undergoes
a quasistatic, isothermal expansion until its pressure is reduced to 150 kPa. How much does the internal
energy of the gas change during this process? R= 8.314 molJ K .
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

640 J
320 J
116 J
575 J
The internal energy does not change during this process.

solution:
The numbers are all irrelevant. The key word is isothermal. Since the internal energy of an ideal gas
depends only on temperature, in any isothermal process its internal energy does not change.
The correct answer is: E
8. A system is said to go through an adiabatic process if, throughout the process,
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

it remains at a constant temperature.

it loses no heat to its surroundings and gains none from them.
its total energy increases.
it maintains a constant ratio of pressure to temperature.
it does no work on its surroundings.

The correct answer is: B

9. A cylinder contains oxygen gas at a temperature of 7 C and a pressure of 15 atm in a volume of 100 L. A
fitted piston is lowered into the cylinder, decreasing the volume occupied by the gas to 80 L and raising
the temperature to 40 C. The gas pressure is now approximately
A)

595 atm

B)

3040 atm

C)

17 atm

D)

21 atm

E)

108 atm

solution:
Since P V = nRT , if the quantity of gas does not change (n does not change) then
(15)(100)
(P )(80)
=
, or P = 21atm
280
313
The correct answer is: D

PV
does not change.
T

So

10. The graph shows the temperature of a 1.0-g sample of material as heat is added to it. The material is
initially a solid at 10 C. The pressure remains constant, and there is no chemical change. The melting
point temperature is
A)
E)

73 C
100 C

B) None of these is correct.

C)

60 C

D)

10 C

solution:
When heat is added to a melting solid its temperature does not change. In the graph shown the temperature
remains at 50 C while 40 cal of heat are added. That is, the melting temperature is 50 C.
The correct answer is: B
2

Figure 1: Problem 10
11. Imagine there are some small lead spheres in a sealed glass tube. Suppose you (somehow) measure
the temperature of the lead, invert the tube quickly several times, and measure the temperature again.
Suppose that all the mechanical energy is converted into heat in the lead shot and that no heat is lost,
What is the increase in the temperature of the lead if the tube is 1.0 m long, there are 100 g of lead, and
the tube is inverted 10 times? (The specific heat of lead is 128. J/(kg K); g is 9.81 m/sec2 .)
A)

7.7 C

B)

2.5 C

C)

0.077 C

D)

0.77 C

E)

0.25 C

solution:
The kinetic energy of the lead is converted into potential energy which is converted into heat. The amount
per inversion is mgh where m = .1kg, g = 9.81m/s and h = 1.0m. During 10 inversions the heat in is
10mgh
therefore 10mgh. Heat in = mc T so T =
= 0.77 C.
mc
The correct answer is: D
12. A hailstorm causes an average pressure of 1.4 N/m2 on the 240 m2 flat roof of a house. The hailstones,
each of mass 7.0 10 3 kg, have an average velocity of 30 m/s perpendicular to the roof and rebound
after hitting the roof with the same speed. How many hailstones hit the roof each second?
A)

4000

B)

800

C)

1000

D)

10

E)

2000

solution:
The force is the rate of change of momentum. The momentum change of one object is 2mv so the total
momentum change per second, which is the force, is 2mvn where n is the number that hit and bounce
PA
back in one second. The pressure is the force per unit area so n =
which is 800.
2mv
The correct answer is: B
13. The specific heat of an ideal gas at constant pressure Cp is greater than the specific heat of a gas at
constant volume Cv . Which of the following describes this statement?

A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

True because there is always more gas at constant pressure.

Not true because Cv > Cp .
Not true because Cp = Cv .
True because, to raise the temperature of a gas at constant volume, work must be done
by the gas.
True because, to raise the temperature of a gas at constant pressure, work must be done
by the gas.

solution:
When heat is added to a gas it goes to increasing the internal energy and doing work. To raise the
temperature by 1 degree the same increase in internal energy must take place, whether any work is done
or not. So if some work is done, as must happen if the volume is allowed to change, more heat is needed
than if no volume change is allowed.
The correct answer is: E
14. At what Kelvin temperature does the rms speed of the Oxygen (O2 ) molecules in the air near the surface
of the earth become equal to the escape speed from the earth? (R = 8.31 J/mol K; molar mass of O2
gas is 32 g/mol; radius of the earth RE = 6.37 106 m; the escape speed from the earth is 11.2 km/s)
A)

3.6 105 K

solution:

B)

1.1 104 K

C)

8.0 104 K

D)

1.6 105 K

E)

4.8 105 K

3
1
3
The mean kinetic energy of a molecule is kT , so the root mean square speed v satisfies mv 2 = kT ,
2
2
2
where m is the mass of a single molecule, which is the mass of one mole divided by Avogadros number.
mv 2
mNA v 2
0.032 11.62
So T must be
=
=
which is 1.6 105 K.
3k
3NA k
3R
The correct answer is: D
15. The equation of state for a certain gas under isothermal conditions is P V = 31.2 where the units are SI.
The work done by this gas as its volume increases isothermally from 0.2 m3 to 0.8 m3 is approximately
A)

43.3 J

B)

115 J

C)

28.6 J

D)

2.86 J

E)

71.8 J

solution:
The work done during an isothermal process is
Vf
which is 43.3J.
Vi
The correct answer is: A
is 31.2 ln

P dV =

1. C
2. C
3. E
4. B
5. B
6. A
7. E
4

R nRT
Vf
d V = nRT ln . Since P V = nRT this
V
Vi

8. B
9. D
10. B
11. D
12. B
13. E
14. D
15. A