CHAPTER 3: WORK & HEAT

3.1.1 Definition of work

Work is the interaction between a system and its surroundings. Work is done by a system in its surroundings if
the sole effect external effect of the interaction could be the lifting of a body. The magnitude of work is the product of
the weight of the body lifted and the distance it could be lifted if the lifting of the body were the sole effect of the
interaction.

This definition emphasizes that work involves both a system and the surrounding or another system. In two systems A and
B interacting only with each other, the work done by the system A is work done on system B and vice versa. Work done
on a system must be identified as work done by some other system.

3.2. Units of Work

Our definition of work involves the raising of a weight, that is, the product of unit force (one Newton) acting
through a unit distance (one meter). This unit for work in SI units is called the joule (J).

1J = 1Nm

Power is the time rate of doing work, and is designated by the symbol P.
P = W/t
3.3. Sign Convention

Work done by the system is expressed as positive numbers (+W) or W out.

Work done on a system is expressed as negative numbers (-W) or Win.

Suppose that system A does 1000J of work on system B, following the convention described, we expressed this as
WA = Wout = 1000J or WB = Win = -1000J

3.4. Work of a closed system, frictionless process

Consider the following conditions

a. The system is closed.

b. There are no frictional effects within the system. This preludes fluid shear force on any part of the system.
c. The pressure is the same on all boundaries of the system; thus a single number represents the pressure of the system
d. There are no effects of electricity, magnetism, motion, gravity, or capillary

As an example of a system which satisfies the conditions listed above, consider a gas trapped in cylinder and
expanding against a piston as in the figure 3.1. The gas expands from an initial state 1 to final state 2. The piston moves
slowly so that effects of motion on the system are negligible. The pressure is uniform throughout the system at any stage
of the expansion, but the value of this uniform pressure changes as the expansion proceeds. At any stage of the expansion,
the force on the piston is the product of the pressure of the gas and the area of the piston.

The work done by the gas on the piston while the piston moves with a distance ds is
dW = F x ds = p A ds where: dW = the differential work
A = the area of the piston
p = the pressure of the system or the gas
ds = the differential distance traveled by the piston

The total amount of work done by the gas on the piston as the gas expands from state 1 to state 2 is
3.5 Sample Problem

1. Consider as a system the gas contained in the cylinder shown in the figure below, which is fitted with a piston on
which a number of small weights are placed. The initial pressure is 200Kpa and the initial volume of the gas is
0.04m3.

a) Assuming that the heat is introduced at the bottom until the volume of the gas is increased to 0.1m 3 while the
pressure is unchanged. Calculate the work done by the system during the process.

W= PdV=AREA OF PV DIAGRAM

b) This time while heat is being added, weights are removed from the piston at such a rate that, during the process,
the relationship between the pressure and volume gives PV = constant = P1V1 = P2V2. Determine the work done.

W= P1V1Ln(V2/V1)=P1V1Ln(p1/P2)

c) Using the same system, but during the addition of heat, weights are removed such that the expression PV1.3 =
constant describes the relation between pressure and volume during the process. Everything the same, calculate
the work.

W= (P2V2-P1V1)/(1-n) P2=P1(Vi/Vf)^n

3.7 Definition of Heat

Heat is defined as the form of energy that is transferred across the boundary of the system at a given temperature to
another system (or surrounding) at a lower temperature by virtue of the temperature difference between the two
systems.

Heat like work is a path function and therefore a property. A process in which there is no heat transfer is called
adiabatic process.

3.8 Units of Heat

Units of heat are the same as that of work, Joules (J) and Kilojoules (KJ).

3.9 Sign Convention

Heat added to a system is expressed by positive numbers (+Q) or Q in.

Heat removed from the system is expressed by negative numbers (-Q) or Qout.

Suppose that 100J of heat is transferred from a system A to system B. Following the convention described, we
expressed this as

QA = -100J or QB = 100J
Specifically:
Qin, A = -100J Qin,B = 100J
Qout,A = 100J Qout,B = -100J