Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Physical Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: gloinddark on May 12, 2010, 11:33:45 AM
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This should be a rather easy question, but I am quite rusty in thermodynamics. so...
I need to find the work done during an isothermal reversible condensation of 1 mol of water at 373K.
I tried tried using w= -nRT ln(Vf/Vi) , but the answer I got is not correct.
n=1, R=8.314, T=373, Vf=0.000018m3, Vi=0.0224m3
Is this the equation I should be using? Are the values correct?
Thanks for your time.
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It's always good to start with the most basic equation for work you know.
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well that would be work = force x distance ...
(sorry for my late feedback)
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That's good, although a bit too basic. In thermodynamics, work is usually defined by the equation:
w = - pΔV
(at least for processes that occur at constant pressure). Try using this as a starting point to answer your question. What is the change in volume associated with the condensation?