The First Law of Thermodynamics

Week – 2 –

DASTAN KHALID
Work & Heat  Applications & Examples
• Before we go into details of how a
energy conservation works, we
need to fully understand Work
and Heat
• We do this by solving some
simple numerical examples on
the nature of Work and Heat.
• We first solve some examples on
the nature of work
• Then we present the
mathematical expression for
Heat which leads to the idea of
heat capacity
• We then further extend our
understanding to apply it to
expansion as a result of heat.
Work
• We have seen before that work is
defined to the energy transfer
associated with a force acting
through a distance.
• Since force is just the pressure
multiplied by the area.
• Substituting for area and change in
length, we get
• Therefore
• The work we have shown here is
derived for the case of a gas (or
liquid) in a piston–cylinder
assembly
• however it is applicable to systems
of any shape provided the pressure
is uniform with position over the
moving boundary.
Work  Example 1
A gas in a piston–cylinder assembly
undergoes an expansion process for
which the relationship between
pressure and volume is given by

The initial pressure is 3 bar, the initial

volume is 0.1 m3, and the final volume
is 0.2 m3. Determine the work for the
process, in kJ, if
(a) n = 1.5
(b) n = 1.0
(c) n = 0.
Example 2
A gas has an initial volume of 2.00
m3. It is expanded to three times
its original volume through a
process for which 𝑃 = 𝛼𝑉 3 , with 𝛼
= 4.00.

How much work is done by the

expanding gas?
Heat
• We have discussed Heat in our 𝛿𝑄 = 𝑚𝑐 𝑑𝑇
previous class. We have stated that
Heat is defined as the form of • Where m is the mass of the object.
energy that is transferred between
two systems (or a system and its
surroundings) by virtue of a
temperature difference. • As a simple example, consider an
80-kg man ran a fever of 39°C
• Experimentally it is found that instead of the normal body
𝛿𝑄 ∝ 𝑑𝑇 temperature of 37°C. Assuming
that the human body is mostly
• And the constant of proportionality water, how much heat is required to
is called Heat capacity of specific raise his temperature by that
heat capacity (c) amount? CH2O = 4190 j/kg.K
• Therefore we write the above
equation as
Linear and Volume expansion
• Most materials expand when their
temperatures increase.
• This means when heat is applied to
most material, their dimension • Not only a change in length occurs,
increases. as a result of applied heat and
therefore increase in temperature,
• In the simplest form, the change in the volume also expands.
dimension could be linear. This
means, for moderate temperature • The mathematical expression for
change we have volume change is
∆𝐿 = 𝛼𝐿0 ∆𝑇
• Where 𝛼 is called coefficient of ∆𝑉 = 𝛽 𝑉0 ∆𝑇
linear expansion and L0 is the
initial length of the object. Where 𝛽 is called coefficient of
volume expansion
Example
• Linear Expansion • For you!
Kobane bridge has a length of 500 At 20.0 °C, a steel bar is 3.0000 m long
m. Assuming it is made out of and a brass bar is 2.9970 m long. At what
temperature will the two bars be the same
cement alone, what gap must be length?
left for the bridge before any
damage occurs if the temperature
changes from -5 °C in winter to 49
°C in summer. 𝛼𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 1 x 10-5 K-1
1st law of thermodynamics
1st law of thermodynamics
 1st law of thermodynamics
• Note that the algebraic signs before the heat and
work terms in the formula are different.

• This follows from the sign conventions previously

adopted. A minus sign appears before W because
energy transfer by work from the system to the
surroundings is taken to be positive.

• A plus sign appears before Q because it is

regarded to be positive when the heat transfer of
energy is into the system from the surroundings.
Total Energy
1st Law  Special Processes
• Adiabatic Processes:
An adiabatic process is one in which no
heat flows when the state of a system
changes. This can happen, for example, if
a process occurs quickly and there is not
enough time for heat to be exchanged. In
this case the 1st Law formula reduces to
∆𝐸 = ∆𝑈 = −𝑊
• Constant-Volume Processes
Processes that occur at constant volume
are called isochoric processes. For a
process in which the volume is held
constant, the system can do no work,
since a constant volume means 𝑑𝑉 = 0.
As a result the 1st Law reduces to
∆𝐸 = ∆𝑈 = 𝑄
1st Law  Special Processes
• Closed Path Process
In a closed-path process, the system
returns to the same state at which it
started. Regardless of how the system
reached that point, the internal energy
must be the same as at the start
Usually such closed path leads to a cycle.

∆𝐸 = ∆𝑈 = 0 → 𝑄 = 𝑊
Example
The pV-diagram shows a series of
thermodynamic processes.
In process ab, 150 J of heat is added to the
system.
In process bd, 600 J of heat is added.
What process is ac? ab? cd?
Find (a) the internal energy change in
process ab
(b) the internal energy change in process
abd
(c) the total heat added in process acd