AMANDO COPE COLLEGE

ACTIVITY NO. 1
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GENERAL CHEMISTRY 2
Baranghawon, Tabaco City

Activity No. 1
ENERGY CHANGES IN CHEMICAL REACTIONS AND THE FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS

PART I. From the conditions and the given definitions of the system, determine whether there is work
done by the system, work done on the system, or no work done. Explain your answer briefly.
1. A balloon expands as a small piece of dry ice (solid CO2) inside the balloon sublimes (balloon is

the system).

2. The space shuttle’s cargo bay doors are opened to space, releasing a little bit of residual

atmosphere (cargo bay is the system).

3. Gaseous CHF2Cl, a refrigerant, is compressed in the compressor of an air conditioner, to try to

liquefy it (CHF2Cl is the system).

4. A can of spray paint is discharged (can is the system).

5. Same as No. 4, but consider the spray to be the system.

PART II. Computation.

1. Consider an ideal gas in a piston chamber where the initial volume is 2.00 L and the initial pressure
is 8.00 atm. Assume that the piston is moving up (that is, the system is expanding) to a final volume
of 5.50 L against a constant external pressure of 1.75 atm. Also assume constant temperature for
the process. Calculate the work for the process.

2. A sample of gas changes in volume from 4.00 L to 6.00 L against an external pressure of 1.50 atm,
and simultaneously absorbs 1000 J of heat. What is the change in the internal energy (E) of the
system?

3. A gas expands in volume from 26.7 mL to 89.3 mL at constant temperature. Calculate the work
done (in joules) if the gas expands (a) against a vacuum, (b) against a constant pressure of 1.5 atm,
and (c) against a constant pressure of 2.8 atm.

4. The work done to compress a gas is 74 J. As a result, 26 J of heat is given off to the surroundings.
Calculate the change in energy of the gas.

5. A gas is cooled and loses 82 J of heat. The gas contracts as it cools, and work done on the system
equal to 29 J is exchanged with the surroundings. What are q, w, and E?