Five moles of ideal gas at 1 bar and 298 K is expanded into vacuum to double the volume. The work done is:

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Strategy:
 Free expansion is defined as the expansion of a gas into a vacuum. Thermodynamic work depends on the external opposing pressure ().

Step 1: Analyze the opposing pressure
During "expansion into a vacuum", the external pressure .

Step 2: Apply the work formula

Since , the product  must be zero, regardless of any change in volume.
For an ideal gas, this process is also isothermal and adiabatic ().

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