Problem Set on Heat & Thermodynamics

Thermometry

1. The precision & reliability of ‘Modern Platinum Resistance Thermometers’ are due to the work of
Callender & Griffiths who, from a wide range of experiments, found that the resistance of ‘Pure
Platinum’ is very accurately given by where are resistances at
respectively and are constants of finite dimensions depending upon the material being tested.
Also we know that the platinum temperature is calculated from the formula

Show that, using the these two relations, a true temperature can be measured by the formula:

where is a constant depending upon the purity of the specimen.

2. A platinum resistance thermometer reads at at and in a bath. Calculate

the temperature of the bath on Platinum scale & Celsius scale. Assume .

3. The resistances of a Platinum wire at and at Sulphur point are found to

be respectively. The resistance of the wire at a temperature is given by
.
Calculate the ratio .

4. The platinum temperature corresponding to on the gas scale is . find the temperature on
the platinum scale that corresponds to on the gas scale.

5. The resistances of a Platinum wire at and at Sulphur point are found to

be respectively. Find the true temperature when the resistance of the
thermometer is .

6. The resistance of a carbon resistor obeys the following relation:

where is the temperature. The resistance is found to be exactly in a liquid helium cryostat.
If , what is the temperature of the cryostat?

Kinetic Theory of Gases

7. Calculate the pressure exerted by a gas having molecules per c.c. at a temperature of .

8. Calculate the r.m.s. velocity of hydrogen at NTP. Given that 1 litre hydrogen weighs 0.0897 g at NTP.

9. At what temperature will the r.m.s. velocity of a gas is half of its value at ?

10. The mean kinetic energy of a molecule at is erg. Calculate the number of molecules per
c.c. of an ideal gas at and at a pressure of 40 mm of Hg.

11. Estimate the size of a He atom, assuming its mean free path at NTP to be cm. Given the
density of He at NTP is g/Litre and the mass of He atom is g. (Hint: )
12. If the molecular diameter of hydrogen is , find the number of collisions by a hydrogen molecule in
1 sec. Given .
13. Show that the average energy of translation of molecules is times their total energy.

14. Calculate what fraction of gas molecules will traverse without collision, distances exceeding the mean
free path and have free paths lying within .

15. Show that if the most probable velocity is taken as unit of speed for gas molecules, the probability that
the speed is between to is independent of temperature.

16. Show that the ratio of the speed of sound in an ideal gas to the average speed of its molecules is
where is the adiabatic exponent.

17. Two thermally insulated vessels of volumes 1 litre & 3 litres are connected by a pipe with tap. Prior to
opening of the tap, the first vessel has nitrogen at temperature & pressure and
the second vessel has argon at & pressure . Find the pressure and temperature
established in the mixture when the tap is opened.

18. An ideal gas expands adiabatically so that its volume is doubled. How many times will the number of
collisions per second of the molecules decrease?

19. Find the total kinetic energy E of the molecules of a monatomic gas colliding with sq.cm. of the wall
per unit time. Assume that the distribution is of Maxwellian type.

20. If the mean molecular diameter of air be , to what pressure must a vessel be evacuated if it’s mean
free path is to exceed cm?

21. Show that the average value of of a Maxwellian gas is given by .

22. A system is composed of two levels of atoms, the excited state being eV above the ground state eV.
Find the fraction of all atoms which will be in the excited state. ( )

23. Under STP, a gas has a density mg/c.c. and the velocity of propagation of sound through it
is m/s. Calculate the number of degrees of freedom the gas molecules may possess.

24. A beam of particles is passed through a low pressure gas. The mean free path of the particles in the gas
is m. Find the fractional attenuation in the intensity of the beam in traversing a thickness of
0.01 mm of the gas sample.

Transport Phenomena

25. Calculate the mean free path, collision rate & molecular diameter of hydrogen. Given
dyne/sq.cm. per unit velocity gradient, average speed cm/s and density g/c.c.
(Hint: )

26. Calculate the mean free path and diameter of Ar atom. Given: atomic weight of Ar
and poise at .

27. Find the thermal conductivity of oxygen if its viscosity Ns/m2 and the specific heat at
constant volume be J/kg/deg. (Hint: where is the Chapman-Enskog
correction)
28. In an experiment on Brownian motion, the r.m.s. displacement in the horizontal direction of a minute
spherical particle suspended in water was found to be cm over a sec interval at at
which the viscosity of water is cgs. If the gas constant erg/K/mol and Avogadro’s
number , calculate the radius of the particle.
(Hint: )

Behaviour of Real Gas

29. Find the critical temperature of CO2 in 1 atm pressure and 1 c.c. volume. Given atm.(c.c.)2
and c.c.

30. If atms, find for one mole helium gas.

31. Show that the departure percentage for Van der Waal,s gas is 62.5% with respect to ideal gas.

32. Find critical constants and Boyle’s temperature for the following equations of states:
(a) Berthelot’s equation of state:
(b) Dieterici’s equation of state:

33. One mole of a gas, stored at , occupies a volume of litre. Find the pressure exerted by the gas.
Given Nm4mol-2, m3mol-1 and Jmol-1K-1.

34. The critical temperature and pressure of argon are and atm. Calculate the radius of an argon
atom. (Hint: is 4 times the volume occupied by all the molecules of 1 mole of gas)

35. Find the critical temperature of He. Given atm, g/c.c. and J/mol/K.

36. Show that isothermal compressibility, defined as , for Van der Waals gas is .

Heat Conduction

37. Calculate the time for the formation of ice 3 cm thick on the surface of a lake when the surrounding air
temperature drops to . Given density of ice g/cc, latent heat of ice cal/g and
thermal conductivity of ice calcm-1sec-1 -1.

38. A pond is covered with ice 0.04 m thick. The temperature of the air above is 261 K. At what rate will the
ice thicken? Given density of ice kg/m3, latent heat of ice kJ/kg and thermal conductivity
of ice W/m/K.

39. Calculate the loss of heat per second per unit length of a rubber tube carrying steam at when the
outer surface is at a temperature of . Given thermal conductivity of rubber cgs and
inner and outer diameters of the tube are 1 cm & 2 cm respectively.

40. Calculate the difference in temperatures between the inner and the outer surfaces of an annular
cylinder of aluminium of length 5 cm when it is being heated internally by an axial coil delivering 10
Watt power. Given thermal conductivity of aluminium 0.5 cgs and inner & outer diameters 3 cm & 6 cm
respectively.
41. A composite slab is made of two parallel layers of different materials A & B in contact. Their
conductivities are 70 W/m/K and 200 W/m/K and thicknesses 0.045 m and 0.025 m respectively. Find
the temperature of the interface of A and B, when their outer surfaces are maintained at 373 K and 273
K respectively.

42. A lagged bar is made in two parts, each having the same cross-sectional area m2. The first part
is 0.15 m long and has a thermal conductivity of 385 W/m/deg, while the second part is 0.05 m long
and has a thermal conductivity of 100 W/m/deg. Find the temperature of the join and the quantity of
heat conducted per second along the bar when one end is at and the other end at .

43. A spherical hot water tank, fitted with an electric heater, has an internal radius of 0.2 m and has a wall
of thickness 0.05 m made of a poor thermal conductor of conductivity 0.84 W/m/deg. If the
temperature of the outside of the wall is when the water is at , calculate the power which
must be dissipated in the heater so as to main the water temperature at .

44. Two thin concentric spherical shells of radii 5 cm and 15 cm respectively have their annular cavity
filled with charcoal. When energy is supplied at the steady rate of 10.8 W to a heater at the centre, a
temperature difference of is set up between the spheres. Find the thermal conductivity of
charcoal.

45. A number of slabs , each of area A, but of different materials and thicknesses are placed side by side in
contact. If the temperature of the exposed face of the first slab is and that of the exposed face of the
nth slab is , show that, in the steady state, the heat conducted per second per unit area is

where , the overall co-efficient of heat transfer, is given by

where is the thickness of the ith slab of conductivity .

46. A cylindrical tube of radii 1 cm and 4 cm has temperatures respectively at the inner and the
outer surfaces. Show that the temperature will be at a distance 2 cm from the axis.

47. A constant temperature difference of is maintained across a slab of thickness 10 cm. The thermal
conductivity of the material of the slab increases linearly with distance, being 2 c.g.s. unit at the cold
face and 4 at the hot surface. Show that the rate of heat per unit area of the slab is .

The First Law of Thermodynamics

48. The equation of state of an ideal elastic substance is given by

where is the tension, is a constant and (the value of at zero tension) is a function of
temperature only. Derive an expression for the work required to change from to quasi-
statistically and isothermally.

49. One mole of an ideal gas is expanded from to in two stages. In the first stage, the
opposing constant pressure is and the volume changes from to and in the second stage, the
opposing pressure is and the volume changes from to . Show that the work-done is a maximum
when and the maximum value of work is .
50. 1 kg of water is boiled under a pressure of atm at . If the volumes occupied by water and steam
under given conditions are m3 and 0.824 m3 respectively, find the work-done and the increase in
internal energy. Given J/kg.

51. One mole of ideal gas at is heated isobarically till its volume is doubled. Find the amount of heat
absorbed. Given J/mol/K and J/mol/K.

52. A gas at atm pressure and litre volume expands adiabatically to atm and litre volume.
Calculate the work-done in joules. Assume .

53. 1 mole of a monatomic ideal gas at is adiabatically compressed in a reversible process from an
initial pressure of atm to a final pressure of atm. Calculate the resulting difference of pressure.

54. A certain mass of a diatomic gas at NTP is expanded to three times its volume under adiabatic
conditions. Calculate the resulting temperature and pressure.

55. Immediately on explosion of an atom bomb, the ball of fire produced had a radius of m and a
temperature of K. What will be the temperature when the ball of fire expands adiabatically to a
1000 m radius? Consider .

56. 20g of hydrogen gas at is compressed isothermally to one-fourth of the original volume. Find the
amount of work-done.

57. The nozzle of a bicycle pump is blocked. With no force on the handle, the pump contains a volume of
air at and atm pressure. The handle is now pushed down with a constant force so as to reduce
the volume to half. If no air escapes from the pump in the process and the change is adiabatic, compute
the final temperature of air. Assume the air to be diatomic in nature.

58. 3 moles of a gas at is compressed in volume isothermally from 10 litres to 2.5 litres. Show that the
work-done is about J.

59. Show that the temperature drop over 1 KM of the atmosphere will be about . Assume
ms-2, J/mol/K and Kgmol-1.

60. An ideal gas expands reversibly according to the equation (constant). Show that the heat
absorbed by the gas is where is the work-done by the gas during the process.

61. An ideal gas in a cylinder is enclosed by a piston of cross-section . The atmospheric pressure is
constant. An external force lifts the piston from a height to . Find the work-done by the applied
force on the gas if the process is (i) isothermal and (ii) adiabatic in nature.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics: The Concept of Entropy

62. A reversible engine converts 1/6th of the heat input into work. If the temperature of the sink is reduced
by , its efficiency is doubled. Find the temperature of the source and the sink.

63. A Carnot engine whose low temperature reservoir is at has an efficiency of . It is desired to
increase the efficiency to . By how many degrees should the temperature of the source be
increased?

64. A Carnot engine is operated between the ice-point and the steam-point. If the engine receives
calories from the source in each cycle, how many calories does it reject to the sink? If the engine is now
 used as a refrigerator and receives the same heat from the sink, how many calories it delivers to the
source? Also find the work-done in each of the cases.

65. 10 g of water at is mixed with 30 g of water at . Will the entropy of the system increase or
decrease? Calculate the change.

66. 10 g of steam at are blown on the surface of g of water at , contained in a calorimeter of

water equivalent 10 g, all steam being condensed. Calculate the increase in entropy of the system.

67. An electric current of 10 A is maintained for second in a resistor of , while its temperature is kept
constant at . Calculate the change in entropy of the resistor and the universe.

68. Calculate the change in entropy when 1 g-atom of solid tin at its melting point is raised to a
temperature of . Given the at.wt. of tin 118, latent heat of fusion 14 cal/g and the mean specific
heat over the temperature change is 0.064. Now if the resistor is thermally insulated and its initial
temperature is , calculate the change in entropy of the resistor and the universe. Given mass of
resistor 10 g and J/kg/ .

69. Two bodies of equal and constant thermal capacity and at absolute temperatures
respectively attain the same temperature on being placed in direct thermal contact. If is the lowest
available temperature, calculate the loss of available energy. (Hint: Loss of available energy Lowest
available temperature Entropy change of the universe)

70. g of water at temperature is isobarically and adiabatically mixed with an equal mass of water
at . Show that the entropy change of the universe is positive and it is given by,

71. The molar specific heat capacity at constant volume of diamond varies with temperature as

where is the Debye temperature. Calculate the change in entropy in units of , of 1.2 g of diamond
when it is heated at constant volume from 10K to 350K. Given at.wt. of carbon 12 and K.

72. Two identical bodies of constant heat capacity at temperatures and are used as the source and the
sink respectively of a heat engine. If the bodies remain at constant pressure and there is no change in
phase, show that the maximum possible work by the heat engine is .

73. Calculate the change in entropy in mixing the elements in air. Assume the composition of air to be N2
79%, O2 20% and others 1% respectively.

74.

Calculate the efficiency of the above cycle.

 Free energies & Clausius-Clapeyron Equation

75. Mercury melts at at 1 atm pressure and its density is 13.59 g/c.c. The density of the solid is
14.19 g/c.c. The heat of fusion is 2.33 cal/g. Find the melting point of mercury at 1000 atm pressure.

76. The vapour-exit tube of a pressure cooker has a radius of 2 mm and is closed by a mass of 140 g fitted
at its mouth. If the latent heat of vaporization of water is 540 cal and specific volume of water vapour is
1674 c.c., find the boiling point of water inside the cooker.

77. Compute from the following data the rate of change of latent heat of fusion of ice with temperature:
sp. heat of water cal, sp. heat of ice cal, latent heat of fusion of ice cal, sp. volume of
water c.c., sp. volume of ice c.c., coefficient of volume expansion of water at constant
pressure c.c/ and coefficient of volume expansion of ice at constant pressure
c.c./ .

78. Latent heat of vaporization of water at K is cal/g. Compute the specific heat of
saturated steam at , when the specific heat of water at is 1.007.

79.

Calculate the efficiency.

Thermal Radiation

80. Each square meter of the Sun’s surface radiates energy at the rate of J/m2/s and Stefan’s
constant is W/m2/K4. Find the temperature of the Sun’s surface, assuming that the
Stefan’s law applies to the radiation.

81. Calculate the pressure exerted by sunlight on the Earth’s surface, given that the solar constant is
J/cm2/min.

82. Assuming the earth to be a spherical black body moving in a circular orbit of radius km round
the sun, find its equilibrium temperature if the sun is considered to be a sphere of radius km
radiating as a black body at a temperature of K. Assume that the radius of the earth is small
compared to the radius of its orbit round the sun.

83. The temperature of a body falls from to in 5 minutes. The air temperature is . Find the
temperature of the body after another minutes.

84. Calculate the black body temperature of sun from the following data:
Stefan’s constant cal/cm2/s, solar constant cal/cm2/min, the radius of the
sun cm and the earth-sun distance cm.
85. An aluminium foil of relative emittance 0.1 is placed between two concentric spheres (assumed to be
perfect black radiators) at temperatures 300K and 200K respectively. Find the foil-temperature after
the steady state is reached and the rate of energy transfer between one of the spheres and the foil.
Given SI.

86. A blackbody at a temperature of 1646K has the wavelength corresponding to maximum emission equal
to micron. Find the temperature of the moon if the same wavelength for it is micron.

87. Assume the sun to be a blackbody at temperature 5800K. Use Stefan’s law to show that the radiant
energy emitted by sun per second is J. Also show that the rate at which energy is reaching
the top of the earth’s atmosphere is Wm . Given
-2 SI unit, radius of the
sun m and the earth-sun distance m.

88. The surface temperature of the sun is 6000K and its radiation is a maximum at a wavelength
micron. A filament of a bulb, having the same surface characteristics as that of the sun, emits radiation
with a maximum at micron. What is the temperature of that filament?

89. A blackbody is placed in an enclosure whose walls are blackened and kept at . Compare the rate of
heat gained or lost by the body when its temperature is and respectively.

90. Radiations from a blackbody at 400K fall on one face of a thermo-couple connected with a mirror
galvanometer when the deflection is . The thermocouple is then turned towards a furnace and the
new deflection was found to be . Find the temperature of the furnace.