In a gas expansion, 69 J of heat is absorbed from the surroundings, and the energy of the system decreased by 118 J. Calculate the work done.
_______ J
To calculate the work done in a gas expansion, we can use the first law of thermodynamics, which states that the change in energy of a system is equal to the heat added to the system minus the work done by the system.
Mathematically, it can be written as:
ΔE = Q - W
where ΔE is the change in energy of the system, Q is the heat added to the system, and W is the work done by the system.
In this case, we are given that the energy of the system decreased by 118 J (ΔE = -118 J) and that 69 J of heat is absorbed from the surroundings (Q = 69 J). We need to calculate the work done (W).
Substituting the given values into the equation, we have:
-118 J = 69 J - W
To isolate W, we can rearrange the equation as:
W = 69 J + 118 J
W = 187 J
Therefore, the work done in this gas expansion is 187 J.