A gas is compressed in a cylinder from a volume of 20.0 l to 2.0 l by a constant pressure of 10.0 atm. calculate the amount of w

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Verdich

3 months ago

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A gas is compressed in a cylinder from a volume of 20.0 l to 2.0 l by a constant pressure of 10.0 atm. calculate the amount of w

ork done on the system.

Physics

1 answer:

Maru [3.3K] · Answer 1 · 2026-03-05T17:50:18+03:00

First, we must transform the pressure into SI units, considering that $1 atm = 1.01 \cdot 10^5 Pa$ :
$p=10.0 atm =1.01 \cdot 10^6 Pa$

The starting and ending volumes of the gas will be as follows (keeping in mind that $1.0 L = 0.001 m^3$ ):
$V_i = 20.0 L=0.020 m^3$
$V_f = 2.0 L=0.002 m^3$

Thus, the work performed on the gas by its surroundings is
$W= -p \Delta V=-p(V_f-V_i)=-(1.01 \cdot 10^6 Pa)(0.002 m^3-0.020 m^3)=18180 J$
The positive outcome indicates that this work leads to a rise in the gas's internal energy.