When heat is provided to an ideal gas during an isothermal process,

Step-by-step solution

For an isothermal process, the temperature of the ideal gas remains constant, so T = 0 . The change in internal energy of an ideal gas depends only on temperature and is given by U = nC_v T . Since T = 0 , U = 0 . According to the first law of thermodynamics, Q = U + W . Substituting U = 0 , we get Q = W . Since heat is provided to the gas, Q > 0 . Therefore, W > 0 , which means the gas performs positive work.