The magnitude of work done during the reversible isothermal expansion of 2 moles of an ideal gas at

Question

The magnitude of work done during the reversible isothermal expansion of 2 moles of an ideal gas at 300 K from a pressure of 10 atm to 1 atm is approximately (Given $R = 8.314 	ext{ J K}^{-1} 	ext{ mol}^{-1}$)

Professor PC Thomas Classes · Answer

(a) : The work done in a reversible isothermal expansion is given by $W = -2.303 n R T \log(P_1/P_2)$. Substituting the values: $W = -2.303 	imes 2 	imes 8.314 	imes 300 	imes \log(10/1)$. This gives $W = -2.303 	imes 4988.4 	imes 1 = -11488 	ext{ J}$, which is approximately $-11.5 	ext{ kJ}$. The magnitude is 11.5 kJ.