A certain amount of an ideal gas undergoes an isothermal reversible compression. If 1200 J of work is done on the gas during this process, what are the values of heat exchanged ( q ) and the change in internal energy ( U ) respectively?

Step-by-step solution

For an ideal gas undergoing an isothermal process, the temperature remains constant ( T = 0 ). Since the internal energy of an ideal gas depends only on temperature, the change in internal energy is zero ( U = 0 ). According to the first law of thermodynamics: U = q + w We are given that 1200 J of work is done on the gas. By IUPAC sign convention, work done on the system is taken as positive, so w = +1200 J . Substituting the values into the first law equation: 0 = q + 1200 q = -1200 J The negative sign indicates t