The gas did work 1200 J, while the internal energy of the gas decreased by 400 J.

The gas did work 1200 J, while the internal energy of the gas decreased by 400 J. How much heat did the gas receive (or gave away)?

According to the first law of thermodynamics, the change in the internal energy of the system U is equal to the difference between the heat received Q and the work A by the perfect system. It turns out that you can write down the formula:

U = Q – A.

Let us express from this formula Q:

Q = U + A.

Consequently, since the gas did work 1200 J, and the internal energy decreased by 400 J, we write:

Q = -400 + 1200 = 800 J.

A positive sign indicates that the gas did not give, but received energy. Therefore: he received 800 J.

Answer: the gas received 800 Joules of energy.



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