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A gas in a cylinder expands from 3.0 L to 8.0 L against a constant atmospheric pressure of 1.0 atm.

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A gas in a cylinder expands from $3.0$ L to $8.0$ L against a constant atmospheric pressure of $1.0$ atm. Find the work done, in joules. Use $1$ L atm $= 101.3$ J.

Need a reminder? The key ideaShow

Work against a constant outside pressure: $w = -p_\text{ex}\Delta V$ , with $1$ L bar $= 100$ J and $1$ L atm $= 101.3$ J. Free expansion: $w = 0$ . Reversible isothermal ideal gas: $w = -2.303\,nRT\log\dfrac{V_f}{V_i}$ , and $\Delta U = 0$ , so $q = -w$ .

The worked solution

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A gas in a cylinder expands from 3.0 L to 8.0 L against a constant atmospheric pressure of 1.0 atm.

The worked solution

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