Heat and Thermodynamics Exam Study Guide Questions and Answers

Thermodynamics - ANSWER-The study of heat and transformation into mechanical energy 1st Law of Thermodynamics - ANSWER-States that whenever heat is added to a system, it transforms to an equal amount of some other form of energy Internal energy - ANSWER-The total microscopic energy of an object, which includes its atomic and molecular translational and rotational kinetic energies, vibrational energy, and the energy stored in molecular bonds Adiabatic process - ANSWER-When a gas is compressed or expanded so that no heat enters or leaves a system Heat Engine - ANSWER-A device for converting heat into mechanical work Heat Pump - ANSWER-A reversible heat engine that acts as a furnace in winter and an air conditioner in summer specific heat - ANSWER-The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit of mass of a substance by 1 degree Isothermal Process - ANSWER-When the temperature remains constant. The heat transfer into of out of the system typically must happen at a slow slow rate for equilibrium is maintained Ideal Heat Engine - ANSWER-A system with ideal conditions, the sum of the mechanical work = the exhausted heat extracted but it would be impossible Efficiency - ANSWER-The ratio of the work produced to the energy input. For an ideal heat engine, the Carnot efficiency is given by 1-Tc/Th 2nd Law of thermodynamics - ANSWER-It is impossible to build a heat engine to perform mechanical work that does not exhaust heat to the surroundings Law of Entropy - ANSWER-The entropy of an isolated system tends to increase Conduction - ANSWER-Thermal (heat) transfer by the contact (touching) of two objects Thermal Equilibrium - ANSWER-When two objects are at the same temperature Radiation - ANSWER-Heat transfer through electromagnetic waves