TALHA AHSAN [ 2018-BME-138 ]

Q.1.Why the back of the refrigerator is warm how it keeps the food cool?

A: Refrigerators basically work on the “heat-pump principle”. It comprises of the 5 main components i.e;
compressor, condenser , evaporator, capillary tube and thermostat. Let’s look at it;
Refrigerators work by causing the refrigerant circulating inside them to change from a liquid into a gas.
This process, called evaporation, cools the surrounding area and produces the desired effect. So , for the
evaporation, the pressure on the refrigerant needs to be reduced through an outlet called the capillary
tube.
Now, inorder to keep a refrigerator running, you need to be able to get the gaseous refrigerant back to its
liquid state, so the gas needs to be compressed to a higher pressure and temperature again.
This where the compressor comes in ; which is actually the” heart “of the refrigerator It ‘circulates and
constricts’ the refrigerant ( i.e; choloro-flurocarbons), by adding pressure in making the refrigerant
warm. It's similar to when you are pumping air into a bicycle tube - you can sense a heat increase in the
pump while you compress the air.
Also, thermostat controls the cooling process by monitoring the temperature and then switching the
compressor on and off. So, now when the gas is hot ,it needs to be cooled in the condenser, which is
mounted on the back of the refrigerator, so its contents can be cooled by the ‘ambient air’. When the gas
cools off inside the condenser (still under high pressure), it changes back into a liquid.
Then, the liquid refrigerant circulates back to the evaporator where the refrigerant turns from a liquid
into a gas through evaporation, it cools the area around it, producing the proper environment for storing
food. In this way, the food inside the refrigerator remains cool.

Q. 2. Why do you feel warmer when you rub your palms together in winter?

A : When we rub our palms in winter, some of the energy is used to overcome the friction between these
surfaces. This energy come up in the form of heat which warms the palms.

Q. 3. Which quantities determine the state of the system?

A : The quantities which determine the state of a function are called state variables. These are:
Temperature, Pressure, Internal Energy, Enthalpy and Entropy.

Q. 4. Is the work done by the gas positive, negative or zero? Explain.

A : Work done is positive when it is done on the gas system by the surroundings, work done is
negative when it is done by the gas system itself and work done is zero when the volume of the system
is fixed , so the change in volume will be zero.
Q. 5. From a microscopic view, how is the internal energy of the gas molecules affected?
A : Internal energy is the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy. At microscopic level, internal
energy of the system is affected by heat and work interactions. Heat and work changes the kinetic and
potential energy of the gas molecules of the system and so its internal energy is affected.

Formula :
U = K.E + P.E

Q. 6. Is the heat less than, greater than or equal to the work? Explain.
A : It can be illustrated as;
 Work done will be equal to the heat added to a system when change in internal energy will be
zero.
 Work done will be less than the heat added to a system when heat cause change in internal
energy of the system.
 Work done can never be greater than the heat provided to a system.