Three moles of an ideal gas are compressed isothermally from 60 L to 20 L using constant pressure of 5 atm. Heat exchange for the compression is L·atm.

Question

Three moles of an ideal gas are compressed isothermally from 60 L to 20 L using constant pressure of 5 atm. Heat exchange  for the compression is  L·atm.

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Strategy:
 For an isothermal compression of an ideal gas, the internal energy remains constant (). Use the First Law of Thermodynamics and the formula for work against a constant external pressure.

Step 1: Calculate Work ()
Expansion/Compression against constant external pressure ():

Given: .

(Positive sign indicates work is done ON the system).

Step 2: Calculate Heat ()
From First Law: 
Since process is isothermal for an ideal gas, .

The magnitude of heat exchange  is .

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