The study of relationships

involving heat,
mechanical work, and
other aspects of energy
and energy transfer for
the system.

CHAPTER 7:
Thermodynamics

Thermodynamic system is
any collection of objects that is
convenient to regard as a unit,
and that may have the
potential energy to exchange
energy with its surroundings.
 SUBTOPIC
7.1 First Law of Thermodynamics
7.2 Thermodynamics Processes
7.3 Thermodynamics Work

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Learning Outcome:
7.1 First law of thermodynamics
At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
 State and use first law of thermodynamics,

3
 7.1 First Law of Thermodynamics
• Thermodynamics is the study of energy relationships that
involve heat, mechanical work, and other aspects of energy
and energy transfer.
• states : The heat, Q supplied to a system is equal to the
increase in the internal energy, ΔU of the system plus
the work done, W by the system on its surroundings.

Q = ∆U + W and ΔU = U2 - U1

where Q : quantity of heat supplied

ΔU : change in the Internal energy
W : Work done
U2 : final internal energy
U1 : initial internal energy 4
 Translation :
• When Q is added to a system (gas) , the temperature of the
gas increases, thus causing the internal energy to increase
by an amount of ΔU joule.

• At the same time, when its temperature increases, its

volume increases too.

• When the volume of the gas increases, work is done by the

gas (W).

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6
 (a) (b)

(a) Thermal-expansion joints are used to separate sections of

roadways on bridges. Without these joints, the surfaces would buckle
due to thermal expansion on very hot days or crack due to contraction
on very cold days.
(b) The long, vertical joint is filled with a soft material that allows the
wall to expand and contract as the temperature
of the bricks changes.
• The first law of thermodynamics is the extension of the
principle of conservation of energy to include both heat
and mechanical energy.

• The table below shows the sign for each symbol in the First
Law of Thermodynamics.

Quantity Sign convection

Q > 0 : Heat supplied to the gas
Q
Q < 0 : Heat loss by the gas
ΔU > 0 : Increase in internal energy
ΔU
ΔU < 0 : Decrease in internal energy
W > 0 : Work done by the gas during expansion
W W < 0 : Work done on the gas during
compression 8
The change in the internal energy ΔU

• The change in the internal energy ΔU of a system during

any thermodynamic process is independant of path.
• The internal energy depends only on temperature of the
system. If the initial and final temperature if same, hence

ΔU = U2 - U1 = 0
• A cyclic process is a process whereby the gas undergoes
various changes and returns to its inital state.

• The change in the internal energy also zero in the cyclic

thermodynamic process (repeated process) because the
initial and final state is same.

•The internal energy is not depend on the volume of the 9

system.
Example 7.1
A fixed amount of air in a cylinder with a frictionless piston
is compressed so that its volume decreases and its internal
energy increases. 19 J of work is done on the air during
compression and 7 J of heat energy leaves the gas
through the walls of the container. What is the increase in
the internal energy of the air?

Solution

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Learning Outcome:
7.2 Thermodynamics processes
At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
 Define the following thermodynamics processes:
 Isothermal, ΔU= 0
 Isovolumetric, W = 0
 Isobaric, ΔP = 0
 Adiabatic, Q = 0
 Sketch P−V graph for all the thermodynamic processes.

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7.2 Thermodynamics processes

• A thermodynamic process is a process involving changes

in one or more of the parameters of a system such as
pressure, volume and temperature.

• There are 4 common processes of thermodynamics:

1) Isothermal process
2) Isochoric (isovolumetric) process
3) Isobaric process
4) Adiabatic process

(“iso” = same)
T V,P
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 1) Isothermal process

• Isothermal process is defined as a process that occurs

at constant temperature.

• ∆U = U 2 - U 1 T1 = T2
f f
∆U = nRT2 - nRT1 = 0
2 2
From FLOT, ∆U = Q − W
If ∆U = 0 then Q =W

• From the Boyle’s law :

PV = constant

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2) Isochoric (isovolumetric) process

• Isochoric (isovolumetric) process is defined as a

process that occurs at constant volume.

• W = P(V2 - V1) = 0 V1 = V2

From FLOT, ∆U = Q − W
If W = 0 then
∆U = Q
• From the Gay-Lussac's law :
P
= constant
T
P1 P2
= 14
T T
3) Isobaric process
• Isobaric process is defined as a process that occurs
at constant pressure.

From flot, ∆U = Q − W
W = PΔV

• From the Charles' law :

V
= constant
T
V1 V2
=
T1 T2
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4) Adiabatic process

• Adiabatic process is defined as a process that occurs

without any heat exchange with the surroundings (into
or out of the system)

From FLOT, Q = ∆U + W
If Q = 0 then
W = −∆U
•

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 Pressure-Volume Diagram (graph) for
Thermodynamic Processes

T4 > T3 > T2 > T1

Path A→B Isothermal process (TB=TA)

Path A→C Adiabatic process (TC<TA)
Path A→D Isochoric process (TD<TA)
Path A→E Isobaric process (TE>TA) 17
Learning Outcome:
7.3 Thermodynamics work
At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

 Derive expression for work , W = ∫ PdV

 Determine work from the area under the p-V graph
 Derive the equation of work done in isothermal,
isovolumetric, and isobaric processes.
 Calculate work done in
 isothermal process and use
V2 p1
W = nRT ln = nRT ln
V1 p2
 isobaric process, use W = ∫ PdV = p (V2 − V1 )

 isovolumetric process, use W = ∫ PdV = 0 18

7.3 Thermodynamics work
Work done in the thermodynamics system
 Consider the infinitesimal work done by the gas (system) during
the small expansion, dx in a cylinder with a movable piston as
shown in below.

A
Initial Gas

dx
A
Final

 Suppose that the cylinder has a cross sectional area, A and the
pressure exerted by the gas (system) at the piston face is P.
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 The work, dW done by the gas is given by
where and
and

 In a finite change of volume from V1 to V2,

(7.1)

where

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PV diagram Work done = area under the P-V graph

isothermal isothermal
expansion compression

isobaric expansion
isochoric

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Equation of work done in thermodynamic processes
1) Isothermal

Q =W ∆U = Q - W = 0
V2 nRT
V2
Q = W = ∫V1 PdV = ∫V1 dV
V
V2
W = nRT ln From Boyle’s law :
V1

P1
W = nRT ln
P2

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2) Isochoric (isovolumetric)
 Since the volume of the system in isovolumetric process
remains unchanged, thus

 Therefore the work done in the isovolumetric process is

Work done at constant
volume

3) Isobaric
The work done during the isobaric process which change of
volume from V1 to V2 is given by

and
Work done at
constant
pressure
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Example 7.2
How much work is done by an ideal gas in expanding
isothermally from an initial volume of 3.00 liters at 20.0
atm to a final volume of 24.0 liters?
Solution
V1 = 3.00 liters, V2 = 24.0 liters ,
P = 20.0 atm

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Example 7.3
Two liters of an ideal gas have a temperature of 300 K
and a pressure of 20.0 atm. The gas undergoes an
isobaric expansion while its temperature is increased to
500 K. What work is done by the gas ?
(1liters = 1x 10-3 m3)
Solution T1 = 300 K, T2 = 500 K , P = 20.0 atm, V1 =2 liters

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 Example 7.4
Two moles of an ideal gas are at a temperature of 300 K
and a pressure 2.5 x 105 Pa. The gas expands
isothermally to twice its initial volume, and then
undergoes isobaric compression to its initial volume.
i) Calculate the initial volume of the gas
ii) What is the pressure of the gas after the gas expands
isothermally to twice its initial volume?
iii) What is the final temperature of the gas after being
compressed isobaric?
iv) Calculate the work done in the isothermal expansion
v) Draw the P-V graph for the processes above

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THE END…
Next Chapter…
CHAPTER 8 :
Fluid Mechanics

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