Question

Suppose an isolated box of volume 2V is divided into two equal compartments. An ideal gas occupies half of the container and the other half is empty. When the partition separating the two halves of the box is removed and the system reaches equilibrium again, how does the new internal energy of the gas compare to the internal energy of original system? a. The internal energy stays the same b. There is not enough information to determine the answer c. The internal energy decreases d. The internal energy increases

Answer 1

Answer:

A. the internal energy stays the same

Explanation:

From the first law of thermodynamics, "energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can be transformed from one form to another.

Based on this first law of thermodynamic, the new internal energy of the gas is the same as the internal energy of the original system.

Therefore, when the partition separating the two halves of the box is removed and the system reaches equilibrium again, the internal energy stays the same.