Conceptual Questions (Properties of Pure Substance)

1. A system consisting of liquid water and ice undergoes a certain thermodynamic process. At the end
of this process, the ice has melted and the system contains only liquid water. Can the system be
considered a pure substance during the process?

2. An open container of pure ethanol (ethyl alcohol) liquid is placed on a table in a room. Evaporation
occurs until all of the ethanol is vanished. Where did the alcohol go? If the ethanol liquid and the
room air are taken to be a closed system, can the system be regarded as a pure substance during the
process? How many phases are present initially and finally?

3. Which process requires more energy: completely vaporizing 1 kg of saturated liquid water at 1 atm
pressure or completely vaporizing 1 kg of saturated liquid water at 8 atm pressure?

4. Does the amount of heat absorbed as 1 kg of saturated liquid water boils at 100°C have to be equal to
the amount of heat released as 1 kg of saturated water vapor condenses at 100°C?

5. Water is boiled in a pan covered with a poorly fitting lid at a specified location. Heat is supplied to
the pan by a 2-kW resistance heater. The amount of water in the pan is observed to decrease by 1.19
kg in 30 min. If it is estimated that 75 percent of electricity consumed by the heater is transferred to
the water as heat. Will the local pressure in that location be atmospheric?

6. A 4-L rigid tank contains 2 kg of saturated liquid–vapor mixture of water at 50°C. The water is now
slowly heated until it exists in a single phase. At the final state, will the water be in the liquid phase
or the vapor phase? What would your answer be if the volume of the tank were 400 L instead of 4 L?

7. Water initially at 300 kPa and 0.5 m3/kg is contained in a piston–cylinder device fitted with stops so
that the water supports the weight of the piston and the force of the atmosphere. The water is heated
until it reaches the saturated vapor state and the piston rests against the stops. With the piston against
the stops, the water is further heated until the pressure is 600 kPa. Sketch the process curves passing
through both the initial and final states of the water on the P-v and T-v diagrams with respect to the
saturation lines. Label the states on the process as 1, 2, and 3. On both the P-v and T-v diagrams,
sketch the isotherms passing through the states and show their values, in °C, on the isotherms.

8. For water at 100 kPa with a quality of 10%, what will be the volume fraction of vapor.

9. A system consists of liquid nitrogen in equilibrium with nitrogen vapor. How many phases are
present? The system undergoes a process during which all of the liquid is vaporized. Can the system
be viewed as a pure substance during the process? Explain.

10. A system consists of liquid water in equilibrium with a gaseous mixture of air and water vapor. How
many phases are present? Does the system consist of a pure substance? Explain. Repeat for a system
consisting ice and liquid water in equilibrium with a gaseous mixture of air and water vapor.