Physics Challenge for Teachers and Students

w Hot, cool, and working hard

A heat engine uses one mole of an ideal monatomic gas as a working substance. The engine can follow either cycle A or cycle B (see the diagram). The ratio of the efficiencies of the cycles is (eA/eB) = k. Find both eA and e B.

Boris Korsunsky, Column Editor

Weston High School, Weston, MA 02493 korsunbo@post.harvard.edu

Solution to January 2012 Challenge

We would also like to recognize the following contributors: Antonio Jorge Aranda Gomez (student, Escuela Superior Politecnica, Seville, Spain) Sharmila Balamurugan (student, Womens Christian College, Chennai, India) Hratch Barsoumian (Haigazian University, Beirut, Lebanon) Andr Bellemans (Universit Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium) Phil Cahill (Lockheed Martin Corporation, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom) Elizabeth Culbertson and Nicholas Ritter, students (George C. Marshall High School, Falls Church, VA) Oscar Escucha Garca (student, Escuela Politcnica Superior, University of Seville, Seville, Spain) Fernando Ferreira (Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilh, Portugal) Norge Cruz Hernndez (University of Seville, Spain) Kristin Hirsch, student (Fairport High School, Fairport, NY) Art Hovey (retired, Milford, CT) Jos Ignacio iguez de la Torre (Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain) David Jones (Florida International University, Miami, FL) Athanasios Kostas, student (H DOMI, Rhodes, Greece) Jos Costa Leme (High School Lanheses, Viana do Castelo, Portugal) Antonio Martin-Navarro, student (Escuela Politcnica Superior, University of Seville, Spain) Stephen McAndrew (Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia) Daniel Mixson (Naval Academy Preparatory School, Newport, RI) Carl E. Mungan (U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD) Thomas Olsen (Society of Physics Students, AIP, College Park, MD) Israel Prez Luna (student, Escuela Politcnica Superior, Seville, Spain)

2V0

3V0

4V0 5V0

Solution: From the first law of thermodynamics, Q = U + PV, where U = 3RT/2 for one mole of monatomic gas = 3PV/2 if the gas is ideal (from PV = nRT). Thus U = 3(PV)/2 = 3PV/2 + 3VP/2, and Q = 5PV/2 + 3VP/2 for each leg of the cycle. During the heating phase, QA = 5PV0/2 + 9V0P/2 and QB = 5PV0/2 + 15V0P/2. Both cycles do the same net work, W = V0P. The efficiencies are eA = W/QA and eB = W/QB.

(Contributed by Clint Sprott, University of Wisconsin Madison, WI)

The Physics Teacher Vol. 50, 2012

Michael Rapport (Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, MD) Pascal Renault (John Tyler Community College, Midlothian, VA) Gregory Ruffa (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN) Daniel Schumayer (University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand) Manish Kumar Singhal (Kota, India) Jason L. Smith (Richland Community College, Decatur, IL) Cssio dos Santos Sousa, student (Instituto Tecnolgico de Aeronutica, So Paulo, Brazil) Many thanks to all contributors and we hope to hear from you in the future!

The Physics Teacher Vol. 50, 2012