The Second Law of Thermodynamics

Due: 8:00pm on Monday, December 12, 2011

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Carnot Cycle: Just How Ideal Is It?

Learning Goal: To understand the quantitative relationships related to ideal (Carnot)
engines and the limitations of such devices imposed by the second law of thermodynamics.
In 1824, Sadi Carnot, a French engineer, introduced a theoretical engine that has been since
then called a Carnot engine, the most efficient engine possible. The following statement is
known as Carnot's theorem:
No engine operating between a hot and a cold reservoir can be more efficient than the Carnot
engine that operates between the same two reservoirs.
The Carnot engine operates cyclically, just like any real engine.The Carnot cycle includes
four reversible steps: two isothermal processes and two adiabatic ones.
In this problem, you will be asked several questions about Carnot engines. We will use the
following symbols:

: the absolute value (magnitude) of the heat absorbed from the hot reservoir during
one cycle or during some time specified in the problem;

: the absolute value (magnitude) of the heat delivered to the cold reservoir during
one cycle or during some time specified in the problem;

: the amount of work done by the engine during one cycle or during some time
specified in the problem;

: the absolute temperature of the hot reservoir; and

: the absolute temperature of the cold reservoir.

Part A
In general terms, the efficiency of a system can be thought of as the output per unit input.
Which of the expressions is a good mathematical representation of efficiency of any heat
engine?

ANSWER
:

Correct
Part B
During the Carnot cycle, the overall entropy ________.
Hint B.1
Some useful equations
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

increases
decreases
remains constant
Correct

Part C
Which of the following gives the efficiency of the Carnot engine?
Hint C.1 Some useful equations
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

Correct
Part D
Consider a Carnot engine operating between the melting point of lead (
melting point of ice (
ANSWER
:

) and the

). What is the efficiency of such an engine?

0
0.455
0.545
1
infinity

Correct
Part E
We have stressed that the Carnot engine does not exist in real life: It is a purely theoretical
device, useful for understanding the limitations of heat engines. Real engines never operate
on the Carnot cycle; their efficiency is hence lower than that of the Carnot engine.
However, no attempts to build a Carnot engine are being made. Why is that?
ANSWER
A Carnot engine would generate too much thermal pollution.
:
Building the Carnot engine is possible but is too expensive.
The Carnot engine has zero power.
The Carnot engine has too low an efficiency.
Correct
The Carnot cycle contains only reversible processes. To be reversible, a process must allow
the system to equilibrate with its surroundings at every step, which makes it infinitely slow;
therefore, the Carnot engine, although the most efficient, is the least powerful one! Its
power is indeed zero, since work is being done at an infinitely slow rate.
Part F
A real heat engine operates between temperatures
amount

and

. During a certain time, an

of heat is released to the cold reservoir. During that time, what is the maximum

amount of work
that the engine might have performed?
Hint F.1 Real vs. ideal
How much work could an ideal (Carnot) engine perform? This is the maximum possible,
since the Carnot engine is the most efficient one.
Hint F.2 Some useful equations

Recall that in a Carnot cycle,

,
where we have taken all heat exchanged to be positive. Substitute for
earlier expression for the efficiency. Also recall that

and

in the

.
Express your answer in terms of
ANSWER
:
=

, and

Correct

Heat Engines Introduced

Learning Goal: To understand what a heat engine is and its theoretical limitations.
Ever since Hero demonstrated a crude steam turbine in ancient Greece, humans have
dreamed of converting heat into work. If a fire can boil a pot and make the lid jump up and
down, why can't heat be made to do useful work?
A heat engine is a device designed to convert heat into work. The heat engines we will study
will be cyclic: The working substance eventually returns to its original state sometime after
having absorbed a quantity of heat and done some work. A cyclic heat engine cannot convert
heat into work without generating some waste heat in the process. Although by no means
intuitively obvious, this is an important fact of nature, since it dramatically affects the
technology of energy generation. If it were possible to convert heat into work without any
waste heat, then one would be able to build refrigerators that are more than 100% efficient!
Consequently, the "impossible heat engine" pictured schematically here

cannot exist, even in theory. Engineers

tried hard for many years to make such a device, but Sadi Carnot proved in 1824 that it was
impossible.

The next figure

shows an "ideal" heat

engine, one that obeys the laws of thermodynamics. It takes in heat

and does work
temperature

. In the process of doing this it generates waste heat

at a temperature
at a cooler

Take and to be the magnitudes of the heat absorbed and emitted, respectively; therefore
both quantities are positive.
Part A
A heat engine is designed to do work. This is possible only if certain relationships between
the heats and temperatures at the input and output hold true. Which of the following sets of
statements must apply for the heat engine to do work?

ANSWER
:

and
and
and
and
Correct

Part B
Find the work

done by the "ideal" heat engine.

Express in terms of
ANSWER
=
:

and

.
Correct

Part C
The thermal efficiency of a heat engine is defined as follows:
Express the efficiency in terms of
ANSWER
:
=

and

Correct

Heat Pumps and Refrigerators

Learning Goal: To understand that a heat engine run backward is a heat pump that can be
used as a refrigerator.
By now you should be familiar with heat engines--devices, theoretical or actual, designed to
convert heat into work. You should understand the following:
1. Heat engines must be cyclical; that is, they must return to their original state some
time after having absorbed some heat and done some work).
2. Heat engines cannot convert heat into work without generating some waste heat in
the process.
The second characteristic is a rigorous result even for a perfect engine and follows from
thermodynamics. A perfect heat engine is reversible, another result of the laws of
thermodynamics.
If a heat engine is run backward (i.e., with every input and output reversed), it becomes a

heat pump (as pictured schematically

Work

).

must be put into a heat pump, and it then pumps heat from a colder temperature

to a hotter temperature , that is, against the usual direction of heat flow (which explains
why it is called a "heat pump").
The heat coming out the hot side of a heat pump or the heat going in to the cold side
a refrigerator is more than the work put in; in fact it can be many times larger. For this
reason, the ratio of the heat to the work in heat pumps and refrigerators is called the
coefficient of performance,
cold side

of

. In a refrigerator, this is the ratio of heat removed from the

to work put in:

.
In a heat pump the coefficient of performance is the ratio of heat exiting the hot side
the work put in:

.
Take , and
Part A

to be the magnitudes of the heat emitted and absorbed respectively.

What is the relationship of

to the work done by the system?
Hint A.1 Note the differences in wording
Hint not displayed

to

Express
in terms of
ANSWER
=
:

and other quantities given in the introduction.

Correct

Part B
Find
Hint
B.1

, the heat pumped out by the ideal heat pump.

Conservation of energy and the first law
Hint not displayed

Express in terms of
ANSWER
=
:

and

.
Correct

Part C
A heat pump is used to heat a house in winter; the inside radiators are at

and the outside

heat exchanger is at . If it is a perfect (i.e., Carnot cycle) heat pump, what is

coefficient of performance?
Hint
Heat pump efficiency in terms of and
C.1
Hint not displayed
Hint
C.2

Relation between

and

in a Carnot cycle

Hint not displayed

Give your answer in terms of
ANSWER
:
=
Part D

and

Correct

, its

The heat pump is designed to move heat. This is only possible if certain relationships
between the heats and temperatures at the hot and cold sides hold true. Indicate the
statement that must apply for the heat pump to work.
ANSWER
and
.
:
and

and

and

Correct
Part E
Assume that you heat your home with a heat pump whose heat exchanger is at

and which maintains the baseboard radiators at

. If it would cost $1000 to heat the
house for one winter with ideal electric heaters (which have a coefficient of performance of
1), how much would it cost if the actual coefficient of performance of the heat pump were
75% of that allowed by thermodynamics?
Hint
Money, heat, and the efficiency
E.1
The amount of money one has to pay for the heat is directly proportional to the work done
to generate the heat. Thus, the more efficient the heat generation the less work needs to be
done and the lower the heating bill.
You are given that the cost of
the temperatures:

is $1000. You also have an equation for

in terms of

Set this equal to

and solve for the monetary value of
, the amount of external
energy input the pump requires. You can measure energies in units of currency for this
calculation.
Hint
E.2

Units of

and
Hint not displayed

Express the cost in dollars.

ANSWER
:

187.5
Correct

Cost =

dollars

This savings is accompanied by more initial capital costs, both for the heat pump and for
the generous area of baseboard heaters needed to transfer enough heat to the house without
raising , which would reduce the coefficient of performance. An additional problem is
icing of the outside heat exchanger, which is very difficult to avoid if the outside air is
humid and not much above zero degrees Celsius. Therefore heat pumps are most useful in
temperate climates or where the heat can be obtained from a groundwater that is
abundant or flowing (e.g., an underground stream).

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Learning Goal: To understand the implications of the second law of thermodynamics.
The second law of thermodynamics explains the direction in which the thermodynamic
processes tend to go. That is, it limits the types of final states of the system that naturally
evolve from a given initial state. The second law has many practical applications. For
example it explains the limits of efficiency for heat engines and refrigerators. To develop a
better understanding of this law, try these conceptual questions.
Part A
The thermodynamic processes that occur in nature ____________.
ANSWER
convert thermal energy into mechanical energy
:
lead to a more ordered state
cannot be reversed
do not conserve energy
Correct
Only infinitely slow, or quasi-equilibrium, processes can be reversible; such processes exist
only in the imaginations of scientists.
One of the ways to state the second law of thermodynamics is as follows:
Any process occurring in a closed system either increases the entropy (disorder) of the
system or leaves it constant. For irreveresible processes, the entropy increases; for the
reversible ones, the entropy remains constant.

Part B

According to the second law of thermodynamics, it is impossible for ____________.

ANSWER
heat energy to flow from a colder body to a hotter body
:
an ideal heat engine to have the efficiency of 99%
an ideal heat engine to have non-zero power.
a physical process to yield more energy than what is put in
Correct
The ideal engine follows a reversible cycle--therefore, an infinitely slow one. If the work is
being done at the infinitely slow rate, the power of such an engine is zero.
An alternative way to state the second law of thermodynamics is as follows:
It is impossible to construct a cyclical heat engine whose sole effect is the continuous
transfer of heat energy from a colder object to a hotter one.
This statement is known as Clausius statement of the second law. Note the word "sole." Of
course, it is possible to construct a machine in which a heat flow from a colder to a hotter
object is accompanied by another process, such as work input.
Part C
If the coefficient of performance of a refrigerator is 1, which the following statements is
true?
Hint C.1 Definition of the coefficient of performance of a refrigerator
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

The temperature outside equals the temperature inside of the

refrigerator.
The rate at which heat is removed from the inside equals the rate at
which heat is delivered outside.
The power consumed by the refrigerator equals the rate at which heat is
removed from the inside.
The power consumed by the refrigerator equals the rate at which heat is
delivered to the outside.
Correct

Part D
To increase the efficiency of an ideal heat engine, one must increase which of the
following?
Hint D.1 Formula for the efficiency of an ideal engine
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

the amount of heat consumed per second

the temperature of the cold reservoir
the temperature of the hot reservoir
the size of the cold reservoir
the size of the hot reservoir
Correct

Part E
How would you increase the coefficient of performance of an ideal refrigerator?
Hint E.1
Graphical approach to the problem
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

Increase the mechanical work input.

Decrease the outside temperature.
Decrease the inside temperature.
Increase the outside temperature.
Correct

The efficiency of an ideal/Carnot refrigerator that absorbs heat

temperature
input

, and releases heat

, is

from a reservoir at a

to another reservoir at a temperature

, with a work

.
From this equation, you can see that decreasing
the efficiency .

and/or increasing

lead to an increase in

Part F
Why must every heat engine have a cold reservoir?
ANSWER
Because it is impossible for even a perfect engine to convert heat
:
entirely into mechanical work.
Because the cold reservoir keeps the engine from overheating.
Because the cold reservoir keeps the engine from overcooling.
Because the cold reservoir increases the power of the engine.
Correct
Another way to state the second law of thermodynamics is as follows:
It is impossible to construct a cyclical heat engine whose sole effect is absorption of energy
from the hot reservoir and the performance of the equal amount of work.
This statement is known as the Kelvin-Planck statement of the second law. Note the word
"sole."
You have now seen three different statements of the second law. Understanding the
equivalence of these three statements is important. However, it is not a trivial matter: Your
textbook and discussions should help you to get a better grasp of this equivalency.

From Hot to Cool: The Second Law of Thermodynamics

Learning Goal: To understand the meaning and applications of the second law of
thermodynamics, to understand the meaning of entropy, and perform some basic calculations
involving entropy changes.
The first law of thermodynamics (which states that energy is conserved) does not specify the
direction in which thermodynamic processes in nature can spontaneously occur. For
example, imagine an object initially at rest suddenly taking off along a rough horizontal
surface and speeding up (gaining kinetic energy) while cooling down (losing thermal
energy). Although such a process would not violate conservation of energy, it is, of course,
impossible and could never take place spontaneously.

The second law of thermodynamics dictates which processes in nature may occur
spontaneously and which ones may not. The second law can be stated in many ways, one of
which uses the concept of entropy.
Entropy
Entropy can be thought of as a measure of a system's disorder: A lower degree of disorder
implies lower entropy, and vice versa. For example, a highly ordered ice crystal has a
relatively low entropy, whereas the same amount of water in a much less ordered state, such
as water vapor, has a much higher entropy. Entropy is usually denoted by , and has units of
energy divided by temperature (
). For an isothermal process (the temperature of the
system remains constant as it exchanges heat with its surroundings), the change in a system's
entropy is given by

,
where

is the amount of heat involved in the process and

is the absolute temperature of

the system. The heat is positive if thermal energy is absorbed by the system from its
surroundings, and is negative if thermal energy is transferred from the system to its
surroundings.
Using the idea of entropy, the second law can be stated as follows:
The entropy of an isolated system may not decrease. It either increases as the system
approaches equilibrium, or stays constant if the system is already in equilibrium.
Any process that would tend to decrease the entropy of an isolated system could never occur
spontaneously in nature. For a system that is not isolated, however, the entropy can increase,
stay the same, or decrease.
Part A
What happens to the entropy of a bucket of water as it is cooled down (but not frozen)?
ANSWER
It increases.
:
It decreases.
It stays the same.
Correct
Presumably, the bucket is not isolated: Heat must be transferred to another object, which is

most likely at a lower temperature than that of the bucket.

Part B
What happens to the entropy of a cube of ice as it is melted?
ANSWER
It increases.
:
It decreases.
It stays the same.
Correct
Part C
What happens to the entropy of a piece of wood as it is burned?
ANSWER
It increases.
:
It decreases.
It stays the same.
Correct
When a solid object is turned into a gas, the degree of disorder increases, so the entropy
increases.
Let us try some calculations now.
Part D
An object at 20 absorbs 25.0 of heat. What is the change in entropy
Express your answer numerically in joules per kelvin.
ANSWER
8.53102
=
:
Correct

of the object?

Part E
An object at 500

dissipates 25.0

of heat into the surroundings. What is the change in

entropy
of the object? Assume that the temperature of the object does not change
appreciably in the process.
Express your answer numerically in joules per kelvin.
ANSWER
-50
=
:
Correct
Part F
An object at 400

absorbs 25.0

of heat from the surroundings. What is the change in

entropy
of the object? Assume that the temperature of the object does not change
appreciably in the process.
Express your answer numerically in joules per kelvin.
ANSWER
62.5
=
:
Correct
Part G
Two objects form a closed system. One object, which is at 400

, absorbs 25.0

of heat

from the other object,which is at 500 . What is the net change in entropy
of the
system? Assume that the temperatures of the objects do not change appreciably in the
process.
Express your answer numerically in joules per kelvin.
ANSWER
12.5
=
:
Correct
Note that the net entropy change is positive as the heat is transferred from the hotter object
to the colder one. If heat were transferred in the other direction, the change in entropy
would have been negative; that is, the entropy of the system would have decreased. This
observation, not surprisingly, is in full accord with the second law of thermodynamics.

PSS 20.1 Heat Engines

Learning Goal: To practice Problem-Solving Strategy 20.1 Heat Engines.
Steam at a temperature

= 280

and

= 1.00

enters a heat engine at an unknown

flow rate. After passing through the heat engine, it is released at a temperature
and

= 1.00

. The measured power output

steam has a heat transfer rate of

molar flow rate

= 3450

of the engine is 600

= 100

, and the exiting

. Find the efficiency of the engine and the

of steam through the engine. The constant pressure molar heat capacity

for steam is 37.47

.
Problem Solving Strategy: Heat engines
IDENTIFY the relevant concepts:
A heat engine is any device that converts heat partially to work.
SET UP the problem using the following steps:
1. Carefully define what the thermodynamic system is.
2. For multi-step processes with more than one step, identify the initial and final states
for each step.

3. Identify the known quantities and the target variables.

4. The first law,
, can be applied just once to each step in a thermodynamic
process, so you will often need additional equations. The equation

is useful in situations for which the thermal efficiency of the engine is relevant. It's
helpful to sketch an energy-flow diagram.
EXECUTE the solution as follows:
1. Be very careful with the sign conventions for
when the system expands and does work;

and the various

's.

is positive

is negative when the system is

compressed. Each is positive if it represents heat entering the system and is

negative if it represents heat leaving the system.
2. Power is work per unit time (
time (

), and heat current

is heat transfer per unit

).

3. Keeping steps 1 and 2 in mind, solve for the target variables.

EVALUATE your answer:
Use the first law of thermodynamics to check your results, paying particular attention to
algebraic signs.
IDENTIFY the relevant concepts
This heat engine partially converts heat from the incoming steam into work, so the problem
solving strategy for heat engines is applicable.
SET UP the problem using the following steps
Part A
Which of the following quantities are known?
Check all that apply.
ANSWER
The power output of the engine,
:
The molar flow rate of steam,
The heat transfer rate for steam leaving the engine,

The temperature of steam as it leaves the engine,

The heat transfer rate for steam entering the engine,
The temperature of the steam as it enters the engine,
The constant pressure molar heat capacity of steam,
The efficiency of the engine,
Correct
The efficiency and the molar flow rate of steam through the engine are both target variables
in this problem. Even though the heat transfer rate of the steam entering the heat engine
is not given in the problem statement, it is not a target variable.
The energy-flow diagram for this system is shown. Heat flows into the engine at a rate of
as steam at a temperature
leaves the engine at a rate of

. Work leaves the engine at a rate

as steam at temperature

. The remaining heat

EXECUTE the solution as follows

Part B
What is the efficiency of the heat engine?
Hint
How to approach the problem
B.1
You are asked to find the efficiency of the heat engine.
To find the efficiency of the heat engine, first find the heat transfer rate of the incoming
steam from the relationships between work and power and between heat and heat transfer

rate. Once you know the incoming heat transfer rate, you can then calculate the efficiency
of the heat engine using the power delivered by the engine.
Hint
B.2

Find the heat transfer rate of the incoming steam

What is the heat transfer rate of the incoming steam

?
Hint
Find an expression for the heat transfer rate of the incoming steam
B.2.1
Hint not displayed
Express your answer numerically in joules per second.
ANSWER
4050
=
:
Correct
Hint
B.3

Find an expression for the efficiency of the heat engine

Hint not displayed

Express the efficiency numerically to three significant figures.

ANSWER
0.148
=
:
Correct
An efficiency of 0.148 indicates that 14.8
converted to work. The remaining 85.2
outlet steam.

of the heat from the incoming steam is

is expelled from the heat engine as heat in the

Part C
What is the molar flow rate of steam into the engine?
Hint
How to approach the problem
C.1
Hint not displayed
Hint
C.2

The net heat flowing into the heat engine

The heat required for the temperature change of moles of steam can be expressed in
terms of the difference in temperatures of the entering and exciting steam as

.
The heat lost by the steam is equal to the heat gained by the steam engine, so the net heat
flowing into the steam engine can be expressed as
.
Hint
C.3

Find an expression for the molar flow rate of steam through the heat engine

Express the molar flow rate

generated power
temperature

of steam through the heat engine as a function of the

, the constant pressure molar heat capacity

. Keep in mind that

engine is conserved,

is related to

, and the change in

, and since the energy of the heat

Express the molar flow rate in terms of , , and

.
ANSWER
:
Answer not displayed
=
Express the molar flow rate in moles per second to three significant figures.
ANSWER
8.90102
=
:
Correct
Knowing the flow rate of steam through the heat engine is important for a few reasons. In
the design stage, an estimate of the flow rate is used the size the heat engine. During the
operation of the heat engine, enough steam must flow through the heat engine to produce
the required amount of power.
EVALUATE your answer
Part D
Which of the following changes, if made individually, would cause an increase in the
amount of power produced by the heat engine?
Check all that apply.
ANSWER
smaller value of
:
larger value of
higher molar flow rate,
smaller value of
lower molar flow rate,

larger value of
Correct
A heat engine can produce more power either by improving its efficiency or by increasing
its throughput. If either the entering heat transfer rate increases or the exiting heat transfer
rate decreases, the power generated by the engine will increase. Dividing both sides of
by time makes the relationship between power and heat transfer rates
clearer:
.
By either increasing the entering heat transfer rate or decreasing the exiting heat transfer
rate, the efficiency of the heat engine is increased. If the molar flow rate increases, the
amount of heat that the engine converts into work per unit time increases, but the engine is
not necessarily more efficient.

A Three-Step Gas Cycle

A monatomic ideal gas has pressure
volume

and temperature

. It is contained in a cylinder of

with a movable piston, so that it can do work on the outside world.

Consider the following three-step transformation of the gas:

1. The gas is heated at constant volume until the pressure reaches

(where

).

2. The gas is then expanded at constant temperature until the pressure returns to
3. The gas is then cooled at constant pressure until the volume has returned to

.
.

It may be helpful to sketch this process on the pV plane.

Part A
How much heat is added to the gas during step 1 of the process?
Hint A.1 First law of thermodynamics
The heat added to a gas equals the change in energy of the gas plus the work done by the
gas:

Hint A.2 Think about

Hint not displayed

Hint A.3 How to find
The energy of a monatomic ideal gas is
and the Boltzmann constant

. The number of gas particles

do not change during step 1, so

depends only on

Hint A.4 How to find

To find

, use the ideal gas law

between the value of

. Solve for

at the beginning and that at the end of step 1.

Express the heat added in terms of , , and

ANSWER
=
:
Correct

Part B
How much work is done by the gas during step 2?
Hint
How to approach this problem
B.1
Hint not displayed
Hint
B.2

Find
Hint not displayed

Hint
B.3

Find the initial and final volumes

Hint not displayed

Express the work done in terms of

ANSWER
=
:
Part C

and take the difference

, and

Correct

How much work

is done by the gas during step 3?

If you've drawn a graph of the process, you won't need to calculate an integral to answer
this question.
Hint
The easy way to solve this problem
C.1
Hint not displayed
Hint
C.2

Find the formula for work done

Hint not displayed

Express the work done in terms of

ANSWER
=
:

, and

Correct

An Air Conditioner: Refrigerator or Heat Pump?

The typical operation cycle of a common refrigerator is shown schematically in the figure

. Both the condenser coils to the left and

the evaporator coils to the right contain a fluid (the working substance) called refrigerant,
which is typically in vapor-liquid phase equilibrium. The compressor takes in low-pressure,
low-temperature vapor and compresses it adiabatically to high-pressure, high-temperature
vapor, which then reaches the condenser. Here the refrigerant is at a higher temperature than
that of the air surrounding the condenser coils and it releases heat by undergoing a phase
change. The refrigerant leaves the condenser coils as a high-pressure, high-temperature

liquid and expands adiabatically at a controlled rate in the expansion valve. As the fluid
expands, it cools down. Thus, when it enters the evaporator coils, the refrigerant is at a lower
temperature than its surroundings and it absorbs heat. The air surrounding the evaporator
cools down and most of the refrigerant in the evaporator coils vaporizes. It then reaches the
compressor as a low-pressure, low-temperature vapor and a new cycle begins.
Part A
Air conditioners operate on the same principle as refrigerators. Consider an air conditioner
that has 7.00

of refrigerant flowing through its circuit each cycle. The refrigerant enters

the evaporator coils in phase equilibrium, with 54.0 of its mass as liquid and the rest as
vapor. It flows through the evaporator at a constant pressure and when it reaches the
compressor 95 of its mass is vapor. In each cycle, how much heat is absorbed by the
refrigerant while it is in the evaporator? The heat of vaporization of the refrigerant is
1.50105
.
Hint A.1 How to approach the problem
Hint not displayed
Hint A.2 Find the percentage of refrigerant transformed to vapor
Hint not displayed
Express your answer numerically in joules.
ANSWER
5.15105
=
:
Correct
Part B
In each cycle, the change in internal energy of the refrigerant when it leaves the compresser
is 1.20105 . What is the work done by the motor of the compressor?
Hint
Adiabatic compression
B.1
Hint not displayed
Express your answer in joules.
ANSWER
=
:
Part C

1.20105
Correct

If the direction of the refrigerant flow is inverted in an air conditioner, the air conditioning
unit turns into a heat pump and it can be used for heating rather than cooling. In this case,
the coils where the refrigerant would condense in the air conditioner become the evaporator
coils when the unit is operated as a heat pump, and, vice versa, the evaporator coils of the
air conditioner become the condenser coils in the heat pump. Suppose you operate the air
conditioner described in Parts A and B as a heat pump to heat your bedroom. In each cycle,
what is the amount of heat released into the room? You may assume that the energy
changes and work done during the expansion process are negligible compared to those for
other processes during the cycle.
Hint
How to approach the problem
C.1
Hint not displayed
Hint
C.2

Find the right expresssion for the first law of thermodynamics

Hint not displayed

Express your answer numerically in joules.

ANSWER
6.35105
=
:
Correct

Carnot Cycle
After Count Rumford (Benjamin Thompson) and James Prescott Joule had shown the
equivalence of mechanical energy and heat, it was natural that engineers believed it possible
to make a "heat engine" (e.g., a steam engine) that would convert heat completely into
mechanical energy. Sadi Carnot considered a hypothetical piston engine that contained
moles of an ideal gas, showing first that it was reversible, and most importantly that
regardless of the specific heat of the gasit had limited efficiency, defined as
where

is the net work done by the engine and

at a (high) temperature
amount of heat

is the quantity of heat put into the engine

. Furthermore, he showed that the engine must necessarily put an

back into a heat reservoir at a lower temperature

The cycle associated with a Carnot engine is known as a Carnot cycle. A pV plot of the

Carnot cycle is shown in the figure.

The

working gas first expands isothermally from state A to state B, absorbing heat
reservoir at temperature

from a

. The gas then expands adiabatically until it reaches a temperature

, in state C. The gas is compressed isothermally to state D, giving off heat

gas is adiabatically compressed to state A, its original state.

. Finally, the

Part A
Which of the following statements are true?
Hint A.1 Heat flow in an adiabatic process
Hint not displayed
Check all that apply.
ANSWER
For the gas to do positive work, the cycle must be traversed in a
:
clockwise manner.
Positive heat is added to the gas as it proceeds from state C to state D.
The net work done by the gas is proportional to the area inside the
closed curve.
The heat transferred as the gas proceeds from state B to state C is
greater than the heat transferred as the gas proceeds from state D to
state A.
Correct
Part B
Find the total work done by the gas after it completes a single Carnot cycle.
Hint
How to approach the problem

B.1
Hint not displayed
Hint
B.2

Compute the change in internal energy

Hint not displayed

Express the work in terms of any or all of the quantities

ANSWER
=
:
Correct

, and

Part C
Suppose there are moles of the ideal gas, and the volumes of the gas in states A and B are,
respectively, and . Find , the heat absorbed by the gas as it expands from state A to
state B.
Hint
General method of finding
C.1
Hint not displayed
Hint
C.2

Find the work done by the gas

Hint not displayed

Hint
C.3

Relation between

and
Hint not displayed

Express the heat absorbed by the gas in terms of ,

reservoir, , and the gas constant
ANSWER
:
=

Correct

, the temperature of the hot

Part D
The volume of the gas in state C is , and its volume in state D is . Find , the
magnitude of the heat that flows out of the gas as it proceeds from state C to state D.
Hint
How to approach the problem
D.1
Hint not displayed
Express your answer in terms of ,
.
ANSWER
:
=

(the temperature of the cold reservoir), and

Correct
Observe that the three parts together imply that
DA are adiabatic processes. So using the first law,

. This is because BC and

,

whereas
. So
, or
. This is a
general result: Any two adiabatic processes operating between the same two temperatures
result in the same amount of work, regardless of the pressure and volume differences.
Part E
Now, by considering the adiabatic processes (from B to C and from D to A), find the ratio
in terms of
Hint
E.1

and

How to approach the problem

Hint not displayed

Hint
E.2

Rewrite

in terms of

and
Hint not displayed

Hint
E.3

Express

and

in terms of

and

Hint not displayed

Hint
E.4

Express

and

in terms of

and

Hint not displayed

Hint E.5

Solving for

in terms of

and

Hint not displayed

ANSWER
:

Correct

Part F
Using your expressions for

and

(found in Parts C and D), and your result from Part E,

find a simplified expression for

.
No volume variables should appear in your expression, nor should any constants (e.g., or
).
ANSWER
:

Correct

Part G
The efficiency of any engine is, by definition,
. Carnot proved that no engine can
have an efficiency greater than that of a Carnot engine. Find the efficiency
of a
Carnot engine.
Hint
Express the efficiency in terms of and
G.1
Hint not displayed
Express the efficiency in terms of
ANSWER
:
=

and

Correct
Because is generally fixed (e.g., the cold reservoir for power plants is often a river or a
lake), engineers, trying to increase efficiency, have always sought to raise the upper

temperature . This explains why (historically) there were some spectacular explosions of
boilers used for steam power.

Carnot Heat Engine Pressure versus Volume Graph Conceptual Question

Imagine the Carnot heat engine represented by the vs.

diagram given in the figure.

Part A
What is the sign of the change in entropy
Hint A.1 Entropy

of the gas after one complete cycle?

Hint not displayed

Hint A.2 Carnot cycle
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

positive
zero
negative
Correct

In an ideal Carnot engine, where each process is reversible, the change in entropy of the gas
and the change in entropy of the surroundings are each exactly zero after each complete
cycle. However, let us investigate what happens in a real process.
During the isothermal expansion, an amount of heat energy

flows into the gas at a

temperature

. This results in an increase in the gas's entropy of

.
However, heat energy will naturally flow into the gas from the surroundings only if there is a
(slight) temperature difference between the gas and the surroundings.
Part B
In a real isothermal expansion, the temperature of the surroundings must be________the
temperature of the gas.
Hint
Heat flow and temperature difference
B.1
Hint not displayed
Complete the sentence above.
ANSWER
:

greater than
less than

Correct
Part C
Because of this temperature difference, the magnitude of the entropy lost by the
surroundings is ________ the magnitude of entropy gained by the gas during a real
isothermal expansion.
Hint
Magnitude of the change in entropy
C.1
Hint not displayed
Hint
C.2

Comparing the entropy changes

Hint not displayed

Complete the sentence above.

ANSWER
:

greater than
equal to

less than
Correct
Part D
Because of this difference in entropy change, the net entropy change of the entire system is
________ during a real isothermal expansion.
Hint
Total change in entropy
D.1
Hint not displayed
Complete the sentence above.
ANSWER
:

positive
negative
zero

Correct
Because there is no heat flow during an adiabatic process, there is no entropy change for
either the gas or the surroundings. (This is an approximation, but we can wrap the gas
sample in lots of insulation to isolate it from the surroundings.)
During the isothermal compression, an amount of heat energy

flows out of the gas at a

temperature . This results in a decrease in the gas's entropy of magnitude

.
However, heat energy will naturally flow out of the gas into the surroundings only if there is
a (slight) temperature difference between the gas and the surroundings.
Part E
In a real isothermal compression, the temperature of the surroundings must be
___________ the temperature of the gas.
Complete the sentence above.
ANSWER
:
Correct
Part F

greater than
less than

Because of this temperature difference, the magnitude of the entropy gained by the
surroundings is __________ the magnitude of entropy lost by the gas during a real
isothermal compression.
Complete the sentence above.
ANSWER
greater than
:
equal to
less than
Correct
Part G
Because of this difference in entropy change, the net entropy change of the entire system is
________ during a real isothermal compression.
Complete the sentence above.
ANSWER
positive
:
negative
zero
Correct
Therefore, although the net entropy change of the gas is still zero after a real Carnot-like
cycle, the net entropy change of the entire system is positive, because during both the
isothermal expansion and compression phases the net change in entropy of the system was
positive. This is unavoidable and a manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics.

Does Entropy Really Always Increase?

An aluminum bar of mass 2.00
water in the lake is 15.0
Part A

at 300

is thrown into a lake. The temperature of the

; the specific heat capacity of aluminum is 900

The bar eventually reaches thermal equilibrium with the lake. What is the entropy change
of the lake? Assume that the lake is so large that its temperature remains virtually
constant.
Hint A.1 How to approach the problem
Hint not displayed
Hint A.2 Find the heat absorbed by the lake
Hint not displayed

Hint A.3 Entropy change in an isothermal process

Hint not displayed
Express your answer numerically in joules per kelvin
ANSWER
1780
=
:
Correct
Part B
Has the entropy of the aluminum bar decreased or increased?
Hint B.1
How to approach the question
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

Since the entropy change of a system is always positive, we can deduce

that the entropy of the aluminum bar has increased.
Since the final lower temperature of the bar means lower average speed
of molecular motion, we can deduce that the entropy of the bar has
decreased.
We don't have enough information to determine whether the entropy of
the aluminum bar has decreased or increased.
Correct

Part C
Since the aluminum bar is not an isolated system, the second law of thermodynamics
cannot be applied to the bar alone. Rather, it should be applied to the bar in combination
with its surroundings (the lake).
Assume that the entropy change of the bar is -73.5

, what is the change in total entropy

?
Hint
C.1

Total change of entropy

Hint not displayed

Express your answer numerically in joules per Kelvin

ANSWER
:

1710
Correct

Even though the aluminum bar lowers its entropy, the total entropy change of the bar and
its surroundings (the water in the lake) is positive, and the total entropy increases.
Part D
The second law of thermodynamics states that spontaneous processes tend to be
accompanied by entropy increase. Consider, however, the following spontaneous processes:

the growth of plants from simple seeds to well-organized systems

the growth of a fertilized egg from a single cell to a complex adult organism

the formation of snowflakes from molecules of liquid water with random motion to
a highly ordered crystal

the growth of organized knowledge over time

In all these cases, systems evolve to a state of less disorder and lower entropy, apparently
violating the second law of thermodynamics. Could we, then, consider them as processes
occurring in systems that are not isolated?
ANSWER
True
:
False
Correct
All the processes listed above require energy input to occur just as a refrigerator requires
electrical energy to run. Systems can become more ordered and lower their entropy as time
passes. However, this can happen only as the entropy of the environment increases, just as
we found out in the case of the hot aluminum bar cooling down in the lake.

Heat into Work

An ideal gas is confined within a thermally isolated cylinder. It consists of atoms initially
at a pressure of . A movable piston seals the right end of the cylinder, as shown in the

figure.
A given amount of heat is slowly
added to the gas, while the piston allows the gas to expand in such a way that the gas's
temperature remains constant at
Part A

As heat is added, the pressure in this gas __________.

Hint A.1 Expansion or contraction?
Hint not displayed
Hint A.2 Isothermal process
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

increases
decreases
remains constant
cannot be determined
Correct

Part B
Is the internal energy of the gas the same before and after
Hint B.1
Find the formula for internal energy
Hint not displayed

is added?

ANSWER
:

yes
no
Correct

Part C
Does the second law of thermodynamics forbid converting all of the absorbed heat
work done by the piston?
Hint C.1 Second law of thermodynamics

into

Hint not displayed

ANSWER
:

yes
no
Correct

Part D
The (Kelvin-Planck statement of the) second law of thermodynamics reads as follows:
It is impossible for an engine working in a cycle to produce no other effect than that of
extracting heat from a reservoir and performing an equivalent amount of work.
The phrase "in a cycle" does not apply in this situation, so the second law does not forbid
heat being converted entirely into work. For this particular problem, is all of the heat
energy absorbed by the gas in fact turned into work done on the piston?
Hint D.1 Relate , , and
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

yes
no
Correct

Part E

Does the magnitude of the force that the gas exerts on the piston depend on the piston's
area?
Hint E.1
Find a formula for the force exerted on the piston
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

yes
no
Correct

Part F
Is the total work done by the gas independent of the area of the piston?
Hint F.1
Find a formula for the work done on the piston
Hint not displayed
ANSWER
:

yes
no
Correct

Given the same initial pressure of the gas, the greater the area of the piston, the larger the
force on it. However, the work done on the piston when heat energy

is added is

independent of piston area (because

and
). From this we can infer that
the force must act through a shorter distance (i.e., the piston does not move as much) when
the piston area is greater.

Internal-Combustion Engine Prototypes Ranking Task

Six new prototypes for internal-combustion engines are tested in the laboratory. For each
engine, the heat energy input and output per cycle, and the designed number of cycles per
second are measured.
Part A
Rank these engines on the basis of the work they perform per cycle.
Hint A.1 How to approach the problem
Hint not displayed

Hint A.2 First law of thermodynamics applied to an engine cycle

Hint not displayed
Hint A.3 Net heat transfer
Hint not displayed
Rank from largest to smallest. To rank items as equivalent, overlap them.
ANSWER
:
View
Correct
Part B
Rank these engines on the basis of their designed power output.
Hint
Calculating power
B.1
Hint not displayed
Rank from largest to smallest. To rank items as equivalent, overlap them.
ANSWER
:
View
Correct
Part C
Rank these engines on the basis of their thermal efficiency.
Hint
Definition of thermal efficiency
C.1
Hint not displayed
Rank from largest to smallest. To rank items as equivalent, overlap them.

ANSWER
:
View
Correct

Irreversible versus Reversible Processes

Part A
Which of the following conditions should be met to make a process perfectly reversible?
Hint A.1 Reversible processes
Hint not displayed
Check all that apply.
ANSWER
Any mechanical interactions taking place in the process should be
:
frictionless.
Any thermal interactions taking place in the process should occur
across infinitesimal temperature or pressure gradients.
The system should not be close to equilibrium.
Correct
Part B
Based on the results found in the previous part, which of the following processes are not
reversible?
Hint
How to approach the problem
B.1
Hint not displayed
Check all that apply.
ANSWER
Melting of ice in an insulated ice-water mixture at 0 .
:
Lowering a frictionless piston in a cylinder by placing a bag of sand on
top of the piston.
Lifting the piston described in the previous statement by removing one
grain of sand at a time.
Freezing water originally at 5
Correct

Refrigerator Light
The inside of an ideal refrigerator is at a temperature

, while the heating coils on the back

of the refrigerator are at a temperature . Owing to a malfunctioning switch, the light bulb
within the refrigerator remains on when the the door is closed. The power of the light bulb is
; assume that all of the energy generated by the light bulb goes into heating the inside of
the refrigerator.
For all parts of this problem, you must assume that the refrigerator operates as an ideal
Carnot engine in reverse between the respective temperatures.
Part A
If the temperatures inside and outside of the refrigerator do not change, how much extra
power
does the refrigerator consume as a result of the malfunction of the switch?
Hint A.1 Find the coefficient of performance
Find the refrigerator's coefficient of performance .
Hint
Relate the heats exchanged to the work done
A.1.1
The coefficient of performance is defined as

, where

from the cold reservoir (the inside of the refrigerator) and

refrigerator's motor. If

is the heat absorbed

is the work done by the

is the heat given off by the refrigerator, find an expression for

.
Give your answer in terms of
ANSWER
=
:
Hint
A.1.2

and

.
Correct

Relating the heats and the work to the appropriate temperatures

The absolute temperature scale may be defined by the following ratio:

,
where and are the respective heats expelled to a cold reservoir and absorbed from a
hot reservoir for an ideal Carnot engine. Recall that we are assuming the refrigerator to
be a Carnot engine operating in reverse, so that heat is aborbed from the cold reservoir
and expelled to the hot reservoir. That's what a good refrigerator does, of course.
Give your answer in terms of

and

ANSWER
:

=
Correct

Hint A.2 How much heat is absorbed from the cold reservoir for the properly
working refrigerator?
Suppose that, before the light was on, the refrigerator absorbed an amount of heat from
the cold compartment during every fixed time interval . (We could say, for instance,
, but the fixed time interval will cancel in the final answer.) After the light comes
on, the temperature of the cold compartment should not change (according to the problem
statement). For this to be true, how much heat
time while the light remains on?
Express your answer in terms of
ANSWER
:
=

will the refrigerator have to absorb in a

, and .

Answer not displayed

Hint A.3 How much work is done by the malfunctioning refrigerator?

Hint not displayed
Hint A.4 Convert heat into power
Hint not displayed
Hint A.5 How much power was consumed by the properly working refrigerator?
Hint not displayed
Hint A.6 Putting it all together
Hint not displayed
Express the extra power in terms of
ANSWER
:
=

, and

Correct
You'll note that for typical household refrigerators, this result suggests that for a given value

of

, the extra power needed to run the refrigerator with the light on is much smaller than

. The next part of this problem shows this for a specific case.
Part B
Suppose the refrigerator has a 25-W light bulb, the temperature inside the refrigerator is
, and the temperature of the heat dissipation coils on the back of the refrigerator is

Find the extra power

consumed by the refrigerator. Keep in mind that you will need to
use absolute units of temperature (i.e., kelvins).
Express your answer numerically in watts to three significant figures.
ANSWER
3.20
=
:
Correct

Six Carnot Engines with Varying Reservoirs Ranking Task

Six Carnot engines operating between different hot and cold reservoirs are described below.
The heat energy transferred to the gas during the isothermal expansion phase of each cycle is
indicated.
Part A
Rank these engines on the basis of the change in entropy of the gas during the isothermal
expansion phase of the cycle.
Hint A.1 Change in entropy
The change in entropy
temperature

for a reversible process that transfers heat energy

at

is

.
Rank from largest to smallest. To rank items as equivalent, overlap them.
ANSWER
:
View
Correct
Part B
Rank these engines on the basis of the change in entropy of the gas during one complete
cycle.
Hint
Change in entropy for a complete cycle
B.1

Hint not displayed

Hint
B.2

Does the second law of thermodynamics apply?

Hint not displayed

Rank from largest to smallest. To rank items as equivalent, overlap them.

ANSWER
:
View
Correct

Six New Heat Engines Conceptual Question

As part of your job at the patent office, you are asked to evaluate the six designs shown in
the figure for innovative new heat engines.

Part A
Which of the designs violate(s) the first law of thermodynamics?
Hint A.1 The first law of thermodynamics applied to a heat engine
Hint not displayed
Give the letter(s) of the design(s) in alphabetical order, without commas or spaces (e.g.,
ACD).

ANSWER
:

CF
Correct

Part B
Which of the remaining designs violate(s) the second law of thermodynamics?
Hint
The second law of thermodynamics applied to a heat engine
B.1
Hint not displayed
Give the letter(s) of the design(s) in alphabetical order, without commas or spaces (e.g.,
ABD).
ANSWER
BD
:
Correct
Part C
Which of the remaining designs has the highest thermal efficiency?
ANSWER
device A
:
device E
Correct

From Hot to Cool: A Change in Entropy

In a well-insulated calorimeter, 1.0
Part A
What is the net change in entropy

of water at 20

is mixed with 1.0 of ice at 0

of the system from the time of mixing until the

moment the ice completely melts? The heat of fusion of ice is

Note that since the amount of ice is relatively small, the temperature of the water remains
nearly constant throughout the process. Note also that the ice starts out at the melting point,
and you are asked about the change in entropy by the time it just melts. In other words, you
can assume that the temperature of the "ice water" remains constant as well.
Hint A.1 How to approach the problem
Hint not displayed
Hint A.2 Description of entropy

Hint not displayed

Hint A.3 Heat needed to melt the ice
Hint not displayed
Express your answer numerically in joules per kelvin. Use two significant figures in your
answer.
ANSWER
8.35102
=
:
Correct
As you would expect, in this spontaneous process the net change in entropy is positive: The
entropy increases. This is evident not just from the calculation but also from the fact that a
crystal becomes liquid and hence the degree of disorder increases.

Melting Ice with a Carnot Engine

A Carnot heat engine uses a hot reservoir consisting of a large amount of boiling water and a
cold reservoir consisting of a large tub of ice and water. In 5 minutes of operation of the
engine, the heat rejected by the engine melts a mass of ice equal to 6.00102
Throughout this problem use

for the heat of fusion for water.

Part A
During this time, how much work is performed by the engine?
Hint A.1 How to approach the problem
Hint not displayed
Hint A.2 Temperature conversion
Hint not displayed
Hint A.3 Calculate the heat rejected
Hint not displayed

Hint A.4 Calculate the heat absorbed

Hint not displayed
Hint A.5

Using the first law of thermodynamics

Hint not displayed

ANSWER
:

7340
Correct

As you can see from this problem, it is very important to keep in mind the signs of the heats
exchanged in an engine. When the Carnot engine absorbs heat from a reservoir, the heat
will be a positive quantity since the heat is being added to the engine, before it does any
work. Similarly, when the Carnot engine rejects heat to a reservoir, the heat will be a
negative quantity since the heat is lost from the engine. The work done by the engine, by
the first law of thermodynamics, is therefore the sum of all heat changes in the engine.

Entropy Change of an Expanding Gas

Two moles of an ideal gas undergo a reversible isothermal expansion from 2.57102
4.86102
Part A

at a temperature of 29.1

What is the change in entropy

of the gas?
Hint A.1 How to approach the problem
Hint not displayed
Hint A.2 Calculate the work done by the gas
Hint not displayed
Hint A.3 Calculating the change in entropy
Hint not displayed
Express your answer numerically in joules per kelvin.
ANSWER
10.6
=
:

to

Correct
As the gas expands, the greater volume allows the molecules of the gas to explore a greater
range of positions, so the disorder of the gas (the molecules of which can have an increased
randomness of position in an increased volume) will therefore be increased as well.

Problem 20.51
A Carnot engine operates between two heat reservoirs at temperatures

and

inventor proposes to increase the efficiency by running one engine between

intermediate temperature and a second engine between
expelled by the first engine.
Part A

and

. An
and an

using as input the heat

Compute the efficiency of this composite system.

Express your answer in terms of some or all of the variables
ANSWER
:
=
Correct

, and

Part B
Compare the efficiency of this composite system to that of the original engine.
ANSWER
overall efficiency has been reduced
:
overall efficiency has been increased
overall efficiency hasn`t been changed
Correct

Exercise 20.20
An ideal Carnot engine operates between 505
cycle.
Part A

and 180

with a heat input of 300

per

How much heat is delivered to the cold reservoir in each cycle?

ANSWER
175
=
:
Correct
Part B
What minimum number of cycles are necessary for the engine to lift a rock of mass 450

through a height of 105 ?

ANSWER
3700
:
Correct

cycles

Problem 20.58
A 1.60102-

cube of ice at an initial temperature of -18.0

water at 42.0
Part A

in an insulated container of negligible mass.

is placed in 0.700

of

Calculate the change in entropy of the system.

ANSWER
3.50
=
:
Correct

Multiple Choice Question - 20.3

Part A
Two Carnot heat engines operate in tandem as follows: engine A takes in 13.0 kJ per cycle
from a heat reservoir at a temperature of 470 K. The heat rejected by engine A is received
by engine B, which performs 4.3 kJ of net work per cycle. Engine B, in turn, rejects heat at
a temperature of 320 K. The temperature at which engine A rejects heat to engine B, in SI
units, is closest to:
ANSWER
398
:
449
395
475
422
Correct

Multiple Choice Question - 20.26

Part A
Figure 20.4

A diesel engine operates reversibly on the cycle abcda, using 9.0 moles of an ideal gas.
Paths bc and da are adiabatic processes. The operating temperatures of points a, b, c, and d
of the cycle are 375 K, 450 K, 432 K, and 250 K, respectively. The adiabatic constant of the
gas is 1.50.
In Fig. 20.4, the heat intake during the isobaric expansion, in kJ, is closest to:
ANSWER
29
:
25
37
33
41
Correct

Short Answer Question - 20.5

An ideal Carnot engine operates between reservoirs having temperatures of 125C and
-20.0C. Each cycle the heat expelled by this engine is used to melt 37.0 g of ice at 0.00C.
The heat of fusion of water is 3.34 105 J/kg and the heat of vaporization of water is 2.25
106 J/kg.
Part A
How much work does this engine do each cycle?

ANSWER
:

7080
Correct

Part B
How much heat per cycle does this engine absorb at the hot reservoir?
ANSWER
:

1.94104
Correct

Score Summary:
Your score on this assignment is 98.9%.
You received 222.56 out of a possible total of 225 points.
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