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Chapter 17: Problem 103

Give a detailed example of each of the following, with an explanation: (a) a thermodynamically spontaneous process; (b) a process that would violate the first law of thermodynamics; (c) a process that would violate the second law of thermodynamics; (d) an irreversible process; (e) an equilibrium process.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Examples of the mentioned processes are (a) Water freezing below 0 degrees Celsius, (b) A perpetual motion machine of the first kind, (c) Heat moving from a colder body to a hotter body without external work, (d) Free expansion of gases, (e) Melting of ice at 0 degrees Celsius under 1 atmosphere pressure

Step by step solution

01

Thermodynamically spontaneous process

A thermodynamically spontaneous process is one which can occur without any external work. An example of this is water freezing when the temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius. The water freezes spontaneously as it moves to a lower energy state, which is more stable.
02

Process that would violate the first law of thermodynamics

The first law of thermodynamics is essentially the law of conservation of energy which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. An example of a process that would violate this law is a perpetual motion machine of the first kind. It is a hypothetical machine that can do work indefinitely without an energy source. This kind of machine is impossible, as it would violate the first law of thermodynamics by creating energy from nowhere.
03

Process that would violate the second law of thermodynamics

The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time. A process that would violate the second law would be heat flowing from a colder body to a hotter body without any external work being done. Normally, heat flows from hot to cold, thus increasing entropy.
04

An irreversible process

An irreversible process in thermodynamics is one that cannot return to its original state without inducing some changes in the surrounding environment. Examples include free expansion of gases and mixing of two different gases. They cannot return to their initial state without external work
05

An equilibrium process

An equilibrium process is one where the system is in equilibrium at all stages of the process. One example would be the melting of ice at 0 degrees Celsius under 1 atmosphere of pressure. As the ice melts, it remains at 0 degree Celsius until all the ice has melted, showing that the system was at equilibrium throughout the melting process.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

(a) Over the years there have been numerous claims about "perpetual motion machines," machines that will produce useful work with no input of energy. Explain why the first law of thermodynamics prohibits the possibility of such a machine existing. (b) Another kind of machine, sometimes called a "perpetual motion of the second kind," operates as follows. Suppose an ocean liner sails by scooping up water from the ocean and then extracting heat from the water, converting the heat to electric power to run the ship, and dumping the water back into the ocean. This process does not violate the first law of thermodynamics, for no energy is created - energy from the ocean is just converted to electrical energy. Show that the second law of thermodynamics prohibits the existence of such a machine.

Which of the following processes are spontaneous and which are nonspontaneous at a given temperature? (a) \(\mathrm{NaNO}_{3}(s) \stackrel{\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}}{\longrightarrow} \mathrm{NaNO}_{3}(a q) \quad\) saturated soln (b) \(\mathrm{NaNO}_{3}(s) \stackrel{\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}}{\longrightarrow} \mathrm{NaNO}_{3}(a q) \quad\) unsaturated soln (c) \(\mathrm{NaNO}_{3}(s) \stackrel{\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}}{\longrightarrow} \mathrm{NaNO}_{3}(a q)\) supersaturated soln

Derive the equation $$ \Delta G=R T \ln (Q / K) $$ where \(Q\) is the reaction quotient and describe how you would use it to predict the spontaneity of a reaction.

A student placed \(1 \mathrm{~g}\) of each of three compounds A, B, and C in a container and found that after 1 week no change had occurred. Offer some possible explanations for the fact that no reactions took place. Assume that \(\mathrm{A}, \mathrm{B},\) and \(\mathrm{C}\) are totally miscible liquids.

The standard enthalpy of formation and the standard entropy of gaseous benzene are \(82.93 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol}\) and \(269.2 \mathrm{~J} / \mathrm{K} \cdot \mathrm{mol},\) respectively. Calculate \(\Delta H^{\circ}, \Delta S^{\circ}\) and \(\Delta G^{\circ}\) for the process at \(25^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). $$ \mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{6}(l) \longrightarrow \mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{6}(g) $$ Comment on your answers.
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