Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region I
Schools Division Office I Pangasinan
Pangasinan National High School
Lingayen, Pangasinan

GENERAL PHYSICS I:
1ST Semester, 2ND Quarter
Module 6-7: Temperature, Heat,
Ideal Gases and The Laws of
Thermodynamics

Most Essential Learning Competencies

At the end of this module, you should be able to:
Module 6: Temperature and Heat
1. explain the connection between the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics, temperature, thermal equilibrium,
and temperature skills. (STEM_GP12TH-IIG-49)
2. convert temperature and temperature differences in the following scales: Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin.
(STEM_GP12TH-IIG-50)
3. define coefficient of thermal expansion and coefficient of volume expansion. (STEM_GP12TH-IIG-51)
4. calculate the volume or length changes of solids due to changes in temperatures. (STEM_GP12TH-IIG-
52)
5. solve problems involving temperature, thermal expansion, heat capacity, heat transfer, and thermal
equilibrium in contexts such as, but not limited to, the design of bridges and train rails using steel,
relative severity of steam burns and water burns, thermal insulation, sizes of stars and surface
temperatures of planets. (STEM_GP12TH-IIG-53)

Module 7: Ideal Gases and the Laws of Thermodynamics

6. Enumerate the properties of an ideal gas. (STEM_GP12GLTIIh-57)
7. Solve problems involving ideal gas equations in contexts such as, but not limited to, the design of metal
containers for compressed gases. (STEM_GP12GLTIIh-58)
8. Interpret PV diagrams of a thermodynamic process. (STEM_GP12GLTIIh-60)
9. Compute the work done by a gas using dW=PdV. (STEM_GP12GLTIIh-61)
10. State the relationship between changes internal energy, work done, and thermal energy supplied
through the First Law of Thermodynamics. (STEM_GP12GLTIIh-62)
11. Differentiate the following thermodynamic processes and show them on a PV diagram: isochoric,
isobaric, isothermal, adiabatic, and cyclic. (STEM_GP12GLTIIh63)
12. Calculate the efficiency of a heat engine. (STEM_GP12GLTIIh-67)
13. Describe reversible and irreversible processes. (STEM_GP12GLTIIi-68)
14. Explain how entropy is a measure of disorder. (STEM_GP12GLTIIi-69)
15. State the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. (STEM_GP12GLTIIi-70)
16. Calculate entropy changes for various processes e.g., isothermal process, free expansion, constant
pressure process, etc. (STEM_GP12GLTIIi-71)
 Temperature, Heat, Ideal Gases and The Laws of Thermodynamics 1

Part I. TEMPERATURE AND HEAT Sample Problems

Thermodynamics Q1. Convert 50ºC into ºF.

“Therme” means heat
“Dynamicos” means movement Q2. Convert 40ºF into ºC.

Thermodynamics is the study of heat, work and the
dynamics and behavior of energy and its manifestations.
Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics
If two systems are in thermal equilibrium, they must be at
the same temperature. If both systems are in thermal
equilibrium with a third system, then they are in thermal
equilibrium with each other.
Q3. Convert 80ºC into ºK.
Q4. At what point is the temperature the same on the
Celsius and Fahrenheit scales? (Ans. -40 degrees)
Q5. A segment of a steel railroad track has a length of
50 m when the temperature is 20oC. What is its
length at 500C?

Temperature Scales Q6. A 100 cm3 glass flask is filled with alcohol at 10oC.
▪ Celsius temperature scale – it is the common How much ethanol overflows when the
scale that is usually used to measure temperature. temperature of the system is raised at 80 oC? 𝛼 =
In Celsius the 0º Celsius is the freezing point and 0.40 𝑥 10−5 𝐾 −1
100ºC is the boiling point.
5 Solutions
𝑇𝐶 = (𝑇𝐹 − 32°)
9
▪ Fahrenheit Scale - This scale sets the temperature
of the ice point at 32°F and the temperature of the
steam point at 212°F.
9
𝑇𝐹 = 𝑇𝐶 + 32°𝐹
5
▪ Kelvin Scale – any temperature on the Kelvin scale
can be change into Celsius by adding 273 on it.
𝐾 = 𝐶 + 273

Thermal Expansion
Thermal expansion occurs once an object is heated the
molecules tends to get excited and move faster and take up
more space that tends the materials to expand or contract.

A. Linear Expansion
Suppose a metal rod of material has a length 𝑙0 at
some initial temperature 𝑇0 . When the temperature
changes by Δ𝑇, the length changes by Δ𝑙.
∆𝐿 = 𝛼𝐿𝑂 ∆𝑇

If a body has length 𝐿0 at a temperature 𝑇0 , then

its length 𝐿 at a temperature 𝑇 = 𝑇0 + Δ𝑇 is,
𝐿 = 𝐿0 + Δ𝐿 = 𝐿0 + 𝛼𝐿0 Δ𝑇 = 𝐿0 (1 + 𝛼Δ𝑇)

The constant 𝛼 which describes the thermal

expansion properties of a particular material, is
called the coefficient of linear expansion. The units
of 𝛼 are 𝐾 −1 or 𝐶 −1 .

B. Volume Expansion
The change in volume is directly proportional to the
initial volume 𝑉𝑖 and to the change in temperature
according to the relationship
𝑉 = 𝛽𝑉𝑖 Δ𝑇

where β is the average coefficient of volume

expansion of the substance. For a solid materials,
 Temperature, Heat, Ideal Gases and The Laws of Thermodynamics 2

the average coefficient of volume expansion is
three times the average linear expansion
coefficient: 𝛽 = 3𝛼
Heat Capacity and Specific Heat
Q7. How much heat is needed to raise the temperature
of a 3kg of aluminum 8K?
Q8. What is the temperature of the mixture if 0.6 kg of
alcohol at 60℃ is added to 0.5 kg alcohol at 20℃
in polystyrene cup?

The heat capacity (C) of a particular sample is defined as Solutions

the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of
that sample by 1°𝐶. From this definition, we see that if
energy 𝑄 produces a change ∆𝑇 in the temperature of a
sample, then

𝑄 = 𝐶 ∆𝑇

The specific heat (c) of a substance is the heat capacity

per unit mass. Therefore, if energy Q transfers to a sample
of a substance with mass m and the temperature of the
sample changes by ∆𝑇, the specific heat of the substance
is
𝑄
𝑐=
𝑚 ∆𝑇
Or we can rewrite it as,
𝑄 = 𝑚𝑐∆𝑇

Where
Q = heat
m = mass of the substance
∆𝑇 = temperature change

For water and ice,

𝑐𝑎𝑙
𝑐𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 1
𝑔∘ 𝐶
𝑐𝑎𝑙
𝑐𝑖𝑐𝑒 = 0.5 ∘
𝑔𝐶

Sensible Heat
is the amount of heat necessary to change the temperature
of the system without changing its phase.
𝑄 = 𝑚𝑐∆𝑇
 Temperature, Heat, Ideal Gases and The Laws of Thermodynamics 3

Part II Q9. A 5.0 g of neon is at 256 mm Hg and at a

temperature of 35º C. What is the volume?
Ideal Gases
Ideal gas is one in which intermolecular forces are Q10. What is a gas’s temperature in Celsius when it has
negligible and gas molecules occupy a negligible volume. a volume of 25 L, 203 mol, 143.5 atm?

Properties of Gases Q11. A cylinder of argon gas contains 50.0 L of Ar at

▪ Gases have no definite shape and volume. 18.4 atm and 127 °C. How many moles of argon is
▪ Gases diffuse rapidly. in the cylinder?
▪ Gases can be readily compressed.
▪ Gases have densities much lower than solids and Solutions
liquids.

Ideal Gas Law

𝑃𝑉 = 𝑛𝑅𝑇
▪ The four gas variables are: pressure (𝑃), volume
(𝑉), number of moles of gas (𝑛), and temperature
(𝑇). Lastly, the constant in the equation shown
below is 𝑅, known as the gas constant.

▪ The universal value of STP is 1 atm (pressure) and

0oC. Note that this form specifically stated 0oC
degree, not 273 Kelvin, even though you will have
to convert into Kelvin when plugging this value into
the Ideal Gas equation or any of the simple gas
equations.

▪ In STP, 1 mole of gas will take up 22.4 L of the

volume of the container.

The Gas Constant (R)

Value of R will change when dealing with different unit of
pressure and volume (Temperature factor is overlooked
because temperature will always be in Kelvin instead of
Celsius when using the Ideal Gas equation). IMPORTANT:
Only through appropriate value of R will you get the correct
answer of the problem.

Here are some commonly used values of R:

𝐿 ⋅ 𝑎𝑡𝑚
0.082057
𝑚𝑜𝑙 ⋅ 𝐾
𝐿 ⋅ 𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑟
62.364
𝑚𝑜𝑙 ⋅ 𝐾
𝑚3 ⋅ 𝑃𝑎
8.3145
𝑚𝑜𝑙 ⋅ 𝐾
𝐽
8.3145 (𝑆𝐼 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡)
𝑚𝑜𝑙 ⋅ 𝐾

Other Gas Laws

1. Boyle’s Law
pressure and volume are inversely proportional
(assuming the number of molecules and
temperature are constant).
𝑃1 𝑉1 = 𝑃2 𝑉2

2. Charles Law
 Temperature, Heat, Ideal Gases and The Laws of Thermodynamics 4

as the temperature increases, the volume will

increase (at a constant pressure)
𝑉1 𝑉2
=
𝑇1 𝑇2

3. Avogadro’s Law
The volume of a gas is directly proportional to the
amount of gas.
𝑉 = 𝑘𝑁

Where:
V= Volume
n = number of moles in the gas
k = constant

or

𝑚1 𝑀1 𝑅1
= =
𝑚2 𝑀2 𝑅2

Where:
m = mass
M = molecular weight
R = gas constant

4. Combined Gas Law

𝑃1 𝑉1 𝑃2 𝑉2
=
𝑇1 𝑇2

The Kinetic Molecular Theory

The word “kinetic” means motion. Objects in motion have
energy called kinetic energy. The Kinetic Molecular Theory
describes behavior of matter in terms of particles in motion.
When applied to gases, the basic postulates are the
following:
▪ Gases are composed of atoms or molecules which
are widely separated from
▪ one another.
▪ Gas molecules move at a very high speeds,
traveling in straight paths but in random directions.
▪ Gas molecules collide with one another and with
the walls of its container.
▪ The average kinetic energy of the molecules is
determined by the gas temperature.
 Temperature, Heat, Ideal Gases and The Laws of Thermodynamics 5

Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics is the branch of physics that deals with

the relationships between heat and other forms of energy.
In particular, it describes how thermal energy is converted
to and from other forms of energy and how it affects matter.

Thermal Energy
The energy a substance or system has due to its
temperature, i.e., the energy of moving or vibrating
molecules.

Heat
The energy transferred between substances or systems
due to a temperature difference between them.

The System and Surroundings

A thermodynamic system or simply a system refers to a
definite quantity of matter most often contained within some
closed surface chosen for study (for example, walls of a
beaker that separates a solution from the rest of the
universe)

Kinds of Thermodynamic System

▪ Closed System - also known as Control mass, is
a system consisting of a fixed amount of mass, and
no mass can cross its boundary. That is, no mass
can enter or leave a closed system. However,
energy in the form of heat or work can cross the
boundary.
▪ Open System - also known as the Control
Volume, is a system in which mass is allowed to
cross the boundary.
▪ Isolated System - is a system in which neither
mass nor energy is allowed to cross the boundary.

Internal Energy
▪ The total energy content of the system.
▪ the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of the
particles that form the system.
▪ For an ideal gas, the internal energy is the sum of
the kinetic energies of the particles in the gas
(system has NO potential energy)
▪ The internal energy of an ideal gas is directly
proportional to the temperature of the gas.
3
𝐸𝑠𝑦𝑠 = 𝑅𝑇
2
In this equation, R is the ideal gas constant in joules
per mole kelvin (J/mol-K) and T is the temperature
in kelvin.

State Function
Temperature is a STATE function. It depends only on the
STATE of the system at any moment in time, NOT the path
used to get the system to that state.

Because the internal energy of the system is proportional to

its temperature, internal energy is also a state function. Any
 Temperature, Heat, Ideal Gases and The Laws of Thermodynamics 6

change in the internal energy of the system is equal to the
difference between its initial and final values.
𝐸𝑠𝑦𝑠 = 𝐸𝑓 − 𝐸𝑖
First Law of Thermodynamics
▪ AKA Law of Conservation of Energy (Energy can
be transferred from the system to its surroundings,
or vice versa, but it can't be created or destroyed.)
▪ Energy of the universe is CONSTANT.
▪ In equation, Δ𝐸𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑣 = Δ𝐸𝑠𝑦𝑠 + Δ𝐸𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟 = 0
Q12. A gas is enclosed in a cylinder with a weighted
piston as the top boundary. The gas is heated and
expands from a volume of 0.04 m 3 to 0.10 m3 at a
constant pressure of 200 kPa. Find the work done
on the system. (Ans. 12 kJ)
Q13. If a system absorbs 500 calories of heat at the
same time does 400J of work, find the change in
internal energy of the system. (Ans. 1700 J)

▪ The change in the internal energy of a system is

equal to the sum of the heat gained or lost by the
system and the work done by or on the system. In
equation, Δ𝐸𝑠𝑦𝑠 = 𝑞 + 𝑤

Sign Conventions for Heat, Work and Internal Energy

The System and Work

Δ𝐸𝑠𝑦𝑠 = 𝑞 + 𝑤
Two kinds of work are normally associated with a chemical
reaction: electrical work and work of expansion.

The amount of work of expansion done by the reaction is

equal to the product of the pressure against which the
system expands times the change in the volume of the
system.
𝑤 = −𝑃Δ𝑉

The sign convention for this equation reflects the fact that
the internal energy of the system decreases when the
system does work on its surroundings.

Enthalpy
Represents the total useful energy of a substance. Useful
energy consists of two parts:
▪ The internal energy
▪ Flow energy, or flow work (pV)
Δ𝐻 = Δ𝐸 + ΔP𝑉

Processes

1. Reversible process - if the process can be turned

back such that both the system and the
 Temperature, Heat, Ideal Gases and The Laws of Thermodynamics 7

surroundings return to their original states, with no

other change anywhere else in the universe.
▪ in reality, no such processes as reversible
processes can exist.
▪ Only for idealization models of real
processes

Examples of Reversible Process:

a. extension of springs
b. slow adiabatic compression or
expansion of gases
c. electrolysis (with no resistance in the
electrolyte)
d. the frictionless motion of solids
e. slow isothermal compression or
expansion of gases

2. Irreversible Process - process in which the

system and the surroundings do not return to their
original condition once the process is initiated.

Examples of Irreversible Processes:

a. Relative motion with friction
b. Throttling
c. Heat transfer
d. Diffusion
e. Electricity flow through a resistance

Thermodynamic Processes
1. Adiabatic Process - a process during which no
heat enters or leaves the system.
𝛥𝑈 = −𝛥𝑊
2. Isobaric Process - a process that occurs at
constant pressure.

3. Isovolumetric Process - takes place at constant

volume.

4. Isothermal Process - occurs at constant

temperature

The Second Law of Thermodynamics

▪ Heat energy flows spontaneously from hotter to a
colder object, BUT NOT VICE VERSA (Clausius
Statement)
▪ No heat engine that cycle continuously can change
all its input energy to useful work (Kelvin-Plank
Statement)
▪ If a system undergoes spontaneous change, it will
change in such a way that its entropy will increase
or, at best, remain constant.
▪ Constantin Carathéodory, “In the neighborhood
of any initial state, there are states which cannot
be approached arbitrarily close through adiabatic
changes of state."
▪ Sadi Carnot is the Father of Thermodynamics.
 Temperature, Heat, Ideal Gases and The Laws of Thermodynamics 8

Heat Engines Q14. During a cyclic process, a heat engine absorbs 500
uses energy provided in the form of heat to do work and J of heat from a hot reservoir, does work and ejects
then exhausts the heat which cannot be used to do work. an amount of heat 300 J into the surroundings (cold
reservoir). Calculate the efficiency of the heat
The thermal efficiency 𝜂: engine?
𝑊 𝑄
𝜂 = 𝑄 𝑛𝑒𝑡 or 𝜂 = 1 − 𝑄𝐿
𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝐻 Q15. A steam engine boiler is maintained at 250°C and
water is converted into steam. This steam is used
Carnot Cycle to do work and heat is ejected to the surrounding
A Carnot Cycle consists of four steps: air at temperature 300K. Calculate the maximum
▪ Isothermal expansion (in contact with the heat efficiency it can have?
reservoir)
▪ Adiabatic expansion (after the heat reservoir is Q16. An ice tray contains 500 g of water. Calculate the
removed) change in entropy of the water as it freezes
▪ Isothermal compression (in contact with the cold completely and slowly at 0oC.
reservoir)
▪ Adiabatic compression (after the cold reservoir is Q17. Suppose we have 1.50kg of water at a temperature
removed) of 0 degree Celsius. We put the water in a freezer,
and enough het is removed from the water to
freeze it completely to ice at a temperature of 0
degree Celsius. How much does the entropy of the
water ice system change during the freezing
process?

Q18. Let us consider the free expansion of a gas. Initially

0.500mole of nitrogen gas is confined to a volume
of 0.500 m3. When the barrier is removed, the gas
expands to fill the new of 1.00m 3. What is the
change in entropy of the gas?

Solutions

Entropy S
▪ Measure of disorder
▪ The entropy of any substance is a function of the
condition of the substance. It is a physical property
of the substance. For an ideal gas it is a function
of its temperature and volume, and for a solid and
liquid it is a function of its temperature and internal
structure.

▪ When a small amount of heat ΔQ is added to a

substance at temperature T, without changing its
temperature appreciably, the entropy of the
substance changes by:
𝛥𝑆 = 𝛥𝑄/𝑇

▪ When heat is removed, the entropy decreases,

when heat is added the entropy increases. Entropy
has units of Joules per Kelvin.

▪ The entropy of the Universe never decreases. It

either increases (for irreversible processes) or
remains the same (for reversible processes).

Third Law of Thermodynamics

The entropy of a perfect crystal at absolute zero is exactly
equal to zero. (Nernst Heat Theorem)