MT 1 Review Session for Physics 7B

Charles Goullaud
Problem 1:
The gure depicts two surfaces, one at temperature T
A
and the other at temperature T
B
. The
two surfaces are connected by a partial sphere of radius r, which is placed between them such that
surface A cuts through the center of the sphere. A distance
r

2
from surface A, surface B cuts
through the sphere. The two surfaces are parallel. The cross-sectional radius of the connector at
surface A is r
A
= r, while at surface B the radius is r
B
=
r

2
. The thermal conductivity of the
connector is K.
(a) Find the rate of heat ow through the connector.
(b) Find an equation for the temperate at any point along the connector and create a plot of this
equation.
Solution:
Quick note: I decided on the wrong shape for this problem. I intended for some simple trignometric
substitutions to get some math practice, but then described the shape as a sphere. I will solve the
problem as a sphere, but one consequence is that we have to ignore the value for r
B
, since it doesnt
hold up mathematically.
Since the cross-sectional area of the conducting volume is not constant, we must use the dier-
ential form of heat ow:
Q
t
= KA
dT
dx
1
First, we can argue that
Q
t
is constant along the length of the connector. If it was x dependent,
then there could be places in the conductor where more energy was owing out of a given cross-
section than owing into it, which would require the material itself to expend energy in order to
not violate energy conservation.
With that in order, we can now rearrange and equation and integrate each side, giving us
T(x) =
1
K
Q
t

x
0
dx

A(x

)
Where weve dened the x position at surface A to be 0. Now, we must nd the cross-sectional
area as a function of x. Since the conductor is spherical, the cross section will just be a circle. We
therefore need to nd the radius as a function of x. This is done easily using the dening equation
of a circle:
r
2
= y
2
x
2
R(x)
2
= r
2
x
2
Then A(x) = R(x)
2
, and our integral becomes
T(x) =
1
K
Q
t

x
0
dx

r
2
x
2
This is a nasty integral that you are not expected to know how to solve (Id actually intended to
give a problem with a sinusoidally varying radius, so if you want practice with integrals you would
be reasonably expected to do on a test, try solving this with R(x) = r cos

2r
x

).
Despite integral ugliness, well move forward with the problem I assigned, not the problem I
intended to assign. The previous equation evaluates to
T(x) =
1
rK
Q
t
ArcTanh

x
r

Now we use our known values, which are T(x) = T

A
at x = 0 and T(x) = T
B
at
r
2
to nd
Q
t
.
T
B
T
A
=
1
rK
Q
t
ArcTanh

1
2

Q
t
=
rK
ArcTanh

1
2
(T
B
T
A
)
The heat ow can now be used to nd an equation for T(x)
T(x) = T(x) T
A
=
T
B
T
A
ArcTanh

1
2
ArcTanh

x
r

Which yields
T(x) =
T
B
T
A
ArcTanh

1
2
ArcTanh

x
r

+T
A
The integration made the math a bit tricky, but the process is pretty straightforward (and you
wont be asked to do unreasonable math on a test; youd be given the tools to make it manageable),
so focus on the process.
For a problem with the same process, but not extremely dicult math, do the problem with
R(x) = cos

2r
x

. Also, draw what shape the connector would be (so you wont end up claiming
its a sphere one day!). You could also try proving that if A is constant, you get the non-dierential
form of the heat-ow equation.
2
Problem 2:
You are walking along one day when you spot a swimming pool that is thermally isolated from
its surroundings (what luck!). Being a proper scientist, you decide to dump a truckload of ice into
the pool (being a proper scientist, you also have access to a truckload of ice).
The pool contains a mass m
w
of water, which has a specic heat of c
w
, and starts at a temper-
ature T
w
. The ice you dump into the pool has mass m
i
, specic heat c
i
, and latent heat L
i
.
After dumping the ice into the pool, you go for a lengthy walk. When you return, you nd the
entire pool has frozen solid and is at a temperature T
f
. What was the temperature of the ice, T
i
you dumped into pool? Give your answer in terms of the given quantities, and assume the pool
does not interact with its surroundings.
You may also decide whether the temperatures are given in
o
C or K. Certain terms may dis-
appear depending on unit choice. State which units the temperatures in your answer use.
Solution
This is an energy conservation problem. The heat lost by the water is gained by the ice. Since the
pool ends up frozen, we know the ice only goes through a temperature change. The water, however,
is cooled from its initial temperature to its freezing point, and then it must freeze, and after that
it resumes a changing temperature until it matches the ice. So, our equation is
Q
i
+Q
w
= 0
Q
i
= Q
w
m
i
c
i
(T
f
T
i
) = (m
w
c
w
(T
freeze
T
w
) m
w
L
i
+m
w
c
i
(T
f
T
freeze
))
T
i
=
1
m
i
c
i
(m
w
c
w
(T
freeze
T
w
) m
w
L
i
+m
w
c
i
(T
f
T
freeze
)) +T
f
Either unit system works for this answer; if forced to choose I would always choose Kelvin! You
never know how else you might need to use this equation later, and choosing Celsius limits you.
You could argue that the T
freeze
terms disappear, since T
freeze
= 0 in Celsius, but by the same
logic Id argue that T
freeze
is a known value, so there is no harm in leaving it in the equation (and
by choosing Kelvin, you retain the usefulness of the equation for other contexts).
Problem 3:
Using the expression for change in entropy
S
ab
=

b
a
dQ
T
and your knowledge of the rst law of thermodynamics, show that the change in entropy for an
ideal gas undergoing any thermodynamic process from state a b is
S
ab
= nC
v
ln

P
b
P
a

+nC
p
ln

V
b
V
a

Solution
3
This problem falls into place if we use the ideal gas law, equipartition theorem, and the dier-
ential form of the rst law of thermodynamics. So, we can combine
S
ab
=

b
a
dQ
T
dU = dQpdV PV = nRT
To arrive at a convenient answer. First, we rearrange the rst law equation and plug it into our
entropy equation.
S
ab
=

b
a
dU
T
+
pdV
T
Then, by the equipartition theorem we know dU =
d
2
nRdT, and from the ideal gas law
p
T
=
nR
V
,
which gives us
S
ab
=

b
a
d
2
nR
dT
T
+nR
dV
V
= nC
V
ln

T
b
T
a

+nRln

V
b
V
a

Plugging the equation in one last time, and using C

P
= C
V
+R, we have
S
ab
= nC
V
ln

P
b
V
b
P
a
V
a

+nRln

V
b
V
a

= nC
V

ln

P
b
P
a

+ ln

V
b
V
a

+nRln

V
b
V
a

= nC
V
ln

P
b
P
a

+nC
P
ln

V
b
V
a

Problem 4:
A Sterling engine consists of four thermodynamic processes. Starting at a volume V
a
and
temperature T
H
, you undergo an isothermal expansion to V
b
. Next, you undergo an isochoric
process that lowers your temperature to T
C
, where T
C
< T
H
. After this, you undergo an isothermal
compression to V
a
. Finally, you undergo an isochoric process that raises your temperature back to
T
H
. Assume the gas inside the engine is a monatomic ideal gas.
(a) Plot the P-V diagram for the Sterling engine.
(b) Find the change in internal energy, the work done, and the heat transfer for each step of the
cycle.
(c) Find the eciency of this engine.
(d) How does this eciency compare to the Carnot cycle eciency?
(e) If we make the cycle operate in reverse, do we still have a heat engine? If yes, nd the new
eciency. If no, state what kind of machine we have, and nd the value that corresponds to
eciency.
Solution
The P-V diagram will look like the gure below.
4
Figure 1: P-V diagram for the Sterling Engine
The table is pretty easy to ll out. For the isothermal processes, there is no change in internal
energy, so Q = W, and W =

f
i
pdV = nRT
i
ln

V
f
V
i

. For the isochoric processes, V

i
= V
f
, so
U =
3
2
nRT = Q. The full table becomes
a b b c c d d a
U 0
d
2
nR(T
C
T
H
) 0
d
2
nR(T
H
T
C
)
W nRT
H
ln

V
b
Va

0 nRT
C
ln

Va
V
b

0
Q nRT
H
ln

V
b
Va

d
2
nR(T
C
T
H
) nRT
C
ln

Va
V
b

d
2
nR(T
H
T
C
)
The eciency of any heat engine is dened as e =
Wnet
Q
H
= 1
Q
C
Q
H
, where Q
H
is the heat
transfered into the engine. If we plug in these values, we nd
e = 1
3
2
(T
H
T
C
) +T
C
ln

V
b
Va

3
2
(T
H
T
C
) +T
H
ln

V
b
Va

The engine would be less ecient than the Carnot cycle. We can tell by setting T
C
= 0, and we
see that the eciency is still dependent on ln

V
b
Va

in the denominator, meaning the only way to

reach the Carnot engines eciency is to expand to innite volume during the isochoric processes.
If we reverse the process, then each energy term in our table above will become negative. We
can tell just by looking; the temperature dierences are a result of going from value of T to the
other, and were just changing the order. The same occurs with the volume terms. For each process,
weve simply changed the bounds of the integration.
The result will be an engine that does negative net work, which means it is a refrigerator. The
eciency we will be looking for is the coecient of performance K, given by
K =
Q
C
W
net
Q
C
will be the heat gained by the engine during processes b c and c d. Our coecient
then becomes
5
K =
|
3
2
nR(T
H
T
C
) +nRT
C
ln

V
b
Va

|
|nRT
H
ln

Va
V
b

+nRT
C
ln

V
b
Va

|
=
|
3
2
(T
H
T
C
) +T
C
ln

V
b
Va

|
| (T
H
T
C
) ln

V
b
Va

|
= |
3
2
ln

V
a
V
b

+
T
C
T
C
T
H
|
Problem 5:
We are handed a box with two sliding walls, as shown in the gure. Each compartment contains
an identical ideal gas, but the state variables are dierent for each.
Initially, we start with
n
A
= 3n
B
= 2n
C
T
A
=
1
2
T
B
= 4T
C
V
A
=
1
3
V
B
= V
C
P
A
=
9
2
P
B
= 8P
C
The box has two sliding walls. The position of the horizontal wall is denoted by x, while the
vertical wall position is y. The full box has length L, height H, and depth D.
(a) Assuming that the walls do not conduct heat, what are the equilibrium postions of x and y?
Is the system in thermal equilibrium at these values?
(b) Now allow the walls to transfer heat between the compartments. What are the nal values for
x and y? Is the system in thermal equilibrium now?
Solution
For part (a), were looking to reach mechanical equilibrium. That means the gases will all have
equal pressures. That way, when the pressure of each gas pushes on one of the walls, the gas on
6
the other side is exerting the same pressure, thus ensuring the wall stays stationary. In essence, we
are balancing forces.
So, we look for the condition when
P
A
= P
B
= P
C

n
A
T
Af
V
Af
=
n
B
T
Bf
V
Bf
=
n
C
T
Cf
V
Cf
Where
V
Af
= xyD V
Bf
= (H y)xD V
Cf
= (L x)HD
There is one other complication, though: while heat cannot ow, the gases can still do work
by moving the walls. The zero heat ow simply tells us the process is adiabatic, and therefore
PV

= K is constant. We can then use T

i
V
1
i
= T
f
V
1
f
, which makes our equations
n
A
T
A
V
1
A
V

Af
=
n
B
T
B
V
1
B
V

Bf
=
n
C
T
C
V
1
C
V

Cf
n
A
T
A
V
1
A
V

Af
=
2
3
n
A
T
A
(3V
A
)
1
V

Bf
=
1
8
n
A
T
A
V
1
A
V

Cf
1
V

Af
=
2
3
2
1
V

Bf
=
1
8
1
V

Cf
1
V

Af
=
2
3
2
1
V

Bf
=
1
8
1
V

Cf
V
Af
=
3
2

1
2
1

V
Bf
= 8
1

V
Cf
Assuming we have a monatomic ideal gas, =
5
3
, well be evaluating the following equation:
xyD =

3
8
1
5
(H y)xD = 8
3
5
(L x)HD
This evaluates to
y =
1
1 +

3
8
1
5
H , x =
8
3
5
+ 192
1
5
1 + 8
3
5
+ 192
1
5
L
Hint: to make the math easier, set the coecients equal to a and b and solve that way.
Once these conditions are met, the system will be in mechanical equilibrium, but not thermal
equilibrium. The forces on the walls will cancel out, but the systems will remain at dierent tem-
peratures, since there is no heat ow between the systems.
Part (b) is more straightforward. If we allow heat to conduct through the walls, then the system
will not stop shifting the walls until it has reached thermal equilibrium, thus we will require the
following conditions:
P
A
= P
B
= P
C
, T
A
= T
B
= T
C

P
A
T
A
=
P
B
T
B
=
P
C
T
C
This makes the math quite simple:
n
A
V
A
=
n
B
V
B
=
n
C
V
C

1
V
A
=
1
3V
B
=
1
2V
C
7
Which gives us
xyD = 3(H y)xD = 2(L x)HD
Which easily leads to the following answer:
y =
3
4
H , x =
8
11
L
Since the three systems are stable (the walls are no longer shifting and changing the states of
the systems) and at the same temperature, they are now in thermal equilibrium.
8