An ideal gas is enclosed in a cylinder fitted with a frictionless piston and perfectly heat-conducting walls. The cylinder is immersed in a large constant-temperature water bath. The gas is then slowly compressed by gradually adding weights to the piston. Which of the following sets of thermodynamic parameters correctly describes this process?

Step-by-step solution

The cylinder has perfectly heat-conducting walls and is placed in a constant-temperature bath, and the process is slow. This ensures the process is isothermal. For an ideal gas undergoing an isothermal process, the change in internal energy is zero ( U = 0 ). The gas is being compressed by external weights, which means work is done on the system. According to IUPAC sign convention, work done on the system is positive ( w 0 ). Applying the First Law of Thermodynamics: U = q + w 0 = q + w q = - w Since w 0 , it follo