Ideal-Gas Worksheet

The thermal energy [symbol: Eth] of an ideal gas is equal to the total kinetic energy of all of the
molecules in the gas. According to the kinetic theory of gases, the absolute temperature T of an ideal
gas is proportional to the average kinetic energy of the molecules contained within the gas. That is,
E
T
th where N represents the number of molecules of gas.
N

1. Suppose we have two samples, A and B, of an ideal gas placed in a partitioned insulated container which
neither absorbs energy nor allows it to pass in or out. The gas in Sample A is the same gas that is in Sample
B. Sample A has the same mass as sample B and each side of the partition has the same volume. Energy but
no material can pass through the conducting partition; the partition is rigid and cannot move.

insulation

A B

a. Consider the two equal masses of ideal gas, A and B:

i. If the thermal energy of A is equal to the thermal energy of B (EthA = EthB), will the temperature of
A be the same as the temperature of B, or will it be different?
same

E th A 
T 
ii. Suppose the ratio of internal energies is   ; would the value of the ratio  A  be greater
E  T 
 th B   B

E th A  equal to
than, less than, or equal to  ?
E 
 th B 

On the bar chart on the next page, the values of the samples' thermal energy are shown at some initial
time (“Time Zero”); "Long After" refers to a time long after that initial time. Refer to the set of three bar
charts to answer the following questions.

b. Find the absolute temperature of sample A at time zero (the initial time), and plot it on the chart.

c. After the initial time, would you expect to see any changes in the temperatures of samples A and B?
If yes, describe the changes (i.e., increases or decreases), and explain your answer. If you don’t
expect to observe any changes, explain why.
A should drop and B should rise until they are in thermal equilibrium at the same temperature

d. A long time after time zero, what ratio do you expect for the temperatures of the two samples?
TA 1
= _____? They should reach thermal equilibrium at the SAME temperature, so the
TB ratio of temperatures should be 1

1
 Ideal-Gas Worksheet
e. A long time after time zero, what ratio do you expect for the thermal energies of the two samples?
E th A 1 energy will be transferred until they reach thermal equilibrium, and
= _____? Explain. since they have the same mass this occurs at the same temperature
E th B
and energy level. So the ratio of energies will also be 1.

f. Complete the bar charts by finding the “Long After” values for temperature and thermal energy, and
also the amounts of energy transferred to each sample. (This is the net transfer that occurs between
time zero and the time “long after.”) If any quantity is zero, label that quantity as zero on the bar
chart. Explain your reasoning below. NOTE: The missing values (indicated by a thick line on the
horizontal axis) are not necessarily zero – you need to determine whether or not they are actually
zero!

Thermal energy Absolute Temperature

10 kJ

8 kJ

6 kJ

4 kJ

2 kJ
? ? ? ? ?
0 0
A B A B A B A B
Time Zero Long After Time Zero Long After

Energy Transfer to Sample:

+ 4 kJ

+ 2 kJ
? ?
0 kJ

– 2 kJ

– 4 kJ
? ?
A B

2
 Ideal-Gas Worksheet
2. Suppose we again have two samples, A and B, of an ideal gas placed in a partitioned insulated container. The
gas in Sample A is the same gas that is in Sample B; however, Sample A now has twice the mass of sample
B (and the volume of sample A is twice the volume of sample B). Energy but no material can pass through
the conducting partition; the partition is rigid and cannot move.

A B
2N 1N

a. Consider the two unequal masses of ideal gas, A and B:

i. If A and B have the same thermal energy, will their temperature be the same, or different? (Is the
average kinetic energy per molecule the same, or different?)
different
ii. After the initial time, would you expect to see any changes in the temperatures of samples A and
B? If yes, describe the changes (i.e., increases or decreases). If you don’t expect to observe any
changes, explain why. A should rise and B should fall since they are at different temperatures ...
this will happen until they reach thermal equilibrium.
On the bar chart on the next page, the values of the samples' thermal energy are shown at some initial
time (“Time Zero”); "Long After" refers to a time long after that initial time. In this case, A and B do NOT
have the same initial thermal energy. Refer to the set of three bar charts to answer the following questions.

b. Find the absolute temperature of sample A at time zero (the initial time), and plot it on the chart.

c. A long time after time zero, what ratio do you expect for the temperatures of the two samples?
TA
1
= _____? ratio is 1 ... after a long time they will reach thermal equilibrium and be at the
TB same temperature.

d. A long time after time zero, what ratio do you expect for the thermal energies of the two samples?
E th A 2
= _____? Explain. ratio will be 2/1 ... they will be in thermal equilibrium at the same
E th B TEMPERATURE, but because A has twice the number of molecules it
will require twice the thermal energy to be at the same temperature
as B.

3
 Ideal-Gas Worksheet
e. Complete the bar charts by finding the “Long After” values for temperature and thermal energy, and
also the amounts of energy transferred to each sample. (This is the net transfer that occurs between
time zero and the time “long after.”) If any quantity is zero, label that quantity as zero on the bar
chart. Explain your reasoning below. NOTE: The missing values – indicated by a thick line on the
horizontal axis – are not necessarily zero – you need to determine whether or not they are actually
zero!

Thermal energy Absolute Temperature

10 kJ

8 kJ

6 kJ

4 kJ

2 kJ
? ? ? ? ?
0 0
A B A B A B A B
Time Zero Long After Time Zero Long After

In this case, even though the

Energy Transfer to Sample: samples have different amounts
of thermal energy, they are in
thermal equilibrium because they
+ 4 kJ have the same temperature due
to the fact that the one with

+ 2 kJ ? ? double the internal energy also

has double the number of
molecules. Because of this
0 kJ nothing will change.

– 2 kJ

– 4 kJ
? ?
A B

4
 Kinetic Theory
Kinetic theory involves applying basic ideas of physics (such as impulse, pressure, and
kinetic energy) to a container of ideal gas.

Write out the ideal gas law: PV = nRT

In units of J / (mol K) what is the value of R, the universal gas constant?

8.31 J / mol*K
Express the ideal gas law in terms of N, the number of gas molecules, instead of
n, the number of moles of gas.
PV = NkT

One of the major results of kinetic theory is that we get some insight into the
connection between the average kinetic energy ( K av ) of the gas molecules in a container
of ideal gas and the absolute temperature of that ideal gas:

3
K av = kT , where k = 1.38 × 10−23 J/K is the Boltzmann constant.
2

This tells us something of fundamental importance. The absolute temperature,

which is a macroscopic quantity we measure for the substance as a whole, is a direct
measure of something that is going on at the microscopic level, the average kinetic
energy of the molecules.

Example Problem:

A box of ideal gas has consists of light particles and heavy particles (the heavy
ones have 16 times the mass of the light ones). Initially all the particles have the same
speed. When equilibrium is reached what will be true?

[ ] All the particles will still have the same speed

[ ] The average speed of the heavy particles equals the average speed of the light
particles

[ ] The average speed of the heavy particles is larger than that of the light particles

[ ] The average speed of the heavy particles is smaller than that of the light particles

Explain your answer: They should all have the same average KE, so if the heavy molecules
have more mass, they would need less velocity to have the same KE as
lighter particles.

Chapter 14 – Thermal Physics: A Microscopic View Page 15

Three identical cylinders are sealed with identical
pistons that are free to slide up and down the cylinder
without friction. Each cylinder contains ideal gas, and
the gas occupies the same volume in each case, but the
temperatures differ. In each cylinder the piston is above
the gas, and the top of each piston is exposed the
atmosphere. In cylinders 1, 2, and 3 the temperatures
are 0°C, 50°C, and 100°C, respectively.

Rank the cylinders in terms of the pressure of the gas, from greatest to least.
Pressure is same in all ... P = Patm + mg/A
Rank the cylinders in terms of the number of moles of gas inside the cylinder.
1 --> 2 --> 3 lower temperature needs more gas to create the same volume and
pressure as a higher temperature.
Sketch a free-body diagram for a piston in one of the cylinders above. Assume the
piston has a mass m and that the circular area of the top or bottom of the piston is A.
Apply Newton’s Second Law to find the pressure in the cylinder.
P*A P*A = Patm*A + mg
Patm*A P = Pat + mg/A
mg

Using m = 5 kg, g = 10 m/s2, A = 0.010 m2 and Patm = 1.000 x 105 Pa, find the pressure in
the cylinder.
P = 1 x 10^5 + 5*10/0.01 = 105000 Pa

P-V (pressure versus volume) diagrams can be very

useful. Consider the P-V graph shown at right.

What are the units resulting from multiplying

pressure in kPa by volume in liters?
T = PV/nR = N/m^2 * m^3 = N*m = joules

Rank the four states shown on the diagram based on

their absolute temperature, from greatest to least.
since T is proportional to PV
2>3=1>4

Chapter 14 – Thermal Physics: A Microscopic View Page 16