(a) When two bodies at different temperatures T1 and T2 are brought in thermal contact, heat flows from the body at the higher temperature to the body at the lower temperature till equilibrium is achieved, i.e., the temperatures of both the bodies become equal. The equilibrium temperature is equal to the mean temperature (T1 + T2)/2 only when the thermal capacities of both the bodies are equal.
(b) The coolant in a chemical or nuclear plant should have a high specific heat. This is because higher the specific heat of the coolant, higher is its heat-absorbing capacity and vice versa. Hence, a liquid having a high specific heat is the best coolant to be used in a nuclear or chemical plant. This would prevent different parts of the plant from getting too hot.
(c) When a car is in motion, the air temperature inside the car increases because of the motion of the air molecules. According to Charles’ law, temperature is directly proportional to pressure. Hence, if the temperature inside a tyre increases, then the air pressure in it will also increase.
(d) A harbour town has a more temperate climate (i.e., without the extremes of heat or cold) than a town located in a desert at the same latitude. This is because the relative humidity in a harbour town is more than it is in a desert town.
What amount of heat must be supplied to 2.0 x 10-2 kg of nitrogen (at room temperature) to raise its temperature by 45 °C at constant pressure? (Molecular mass of N2 = 28; R = 8.3 J mol-1 K-1.)
An electric heater supplies heat to a system at a rate of 100W. If system performs work at a rate of 75 Joules per second. At what rate is the internal energy increasing?
A steam engine delivers 5.4 x 108 J of work per minute and services 3.6 x 109 J of heat per minute from its boiler. What is the efficiency of the engine? How much heat is wasted per minute?
A refrigerator is to maintain eatables kept inside at 9°C. If room temperature is 36° C, calculate the coefficient of performance.
In changing the state of a gas adiabatically from an equilibrium state A to another equilibrium state B, an amount of work equal to 22.3 J is done on the system. If the gas is taken from state A to B via a process in which the net heat absorbed by the system is 9.35 cal, how much is the net work done by the system in the latter case? (Take 1 cal = 4.19 J)
A geyser heats water flowing at the rate of 3.0 litres per minute from 27 °C to 77 °C. If the geyser operates on a gas burner, what is the rate of consumption of the fuel if its heat of combustion is 4.0 x 104 J/g?
Some of the most profound statements on the nature of science have come from Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time. What do you think did Einstein mean when he said : “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible”?
The sign of work done by a force on a body is important to understand. State carefully if the following quantities are positive or negative:
(a) work done by a man in lifting a bucket out of a well by means of a rope tied to the bucket.
(b) work done by gravitational force in the above case,
(c) work done by friction on a body sliding down an inclined plane,
(d) work done by an applied force on a body moving on a rough horizontal plane with uniform velocity,
(e) work done by the resistive force of air on a vibrating pendulum in bringing it to rest.
Estimate the fraction of molecular volume to the actual volume occupied by oxygen gas at STP. Take the diameter of an oxygen molecule to be 3Å.
“Politics is the art of the possible”. Similarly, “Science is the art of the soluble”. Explain this beautiful aphorism on the nature and practice of science.
A travelling harmonic wave on a string is described by
y(x,t) = 7.5sin [0.0050x + 12t + π/4]
(a) What are the displacement and velocity of oscillation of a point at x = 1 cm, and t = 1 s? Is this velocity equal to the velocity of wave propagation?
(b) Locate the points of the string which have the same transverse displacements and velocity as the x = 1 cm point at t = 2 s, 5 s and 11 s.
The transverse displacement of a wire (clamped at both its ends) is described as :
y (x, t) = 0.06 sin(2π/3x) cos(120πt)
The mass of the wire is 6 x 10-2 kg and its length is 3m. Provide answers to the following questions:
( I ) Is the function describing a stationary wave or a travelling wave?
( ii ) Interpret the wave as a superposition of two waves travelling in opposite directions. Find the speed, wavelength and frequency of each wave.
( iii ) Calculate the wire’s tension. [X and y are in meters and t in secs]
A narrow sound pulse (for example, a short pip by a whistle) is sent across a medium.
(a) Does the pulse have a definite (i) frequency, (ii) wavelength, (iii) speed of propagation?
(b) If the pulse rate is 1 after every 20 s, (that is the whistle is blown for a split of second after every 20 s), is the frequency of the note produced by the whistle equal to or 0.05 Hz?
A steel wire has a length of 12.0 m and a mass of 2.10 kg. What should be the tension in the wire so that speed of a transverse wave on the wire equals the speed of sound in dry air at 20 °C = 343 m s-1.
In Exercises 3.13 and 3.14, we have carefully distinguished between average speed and magnitude of average velocity. No such distinction is necessary when we consider instantaneous speed and magnitude of velocity. The instantaneous speed is always equal to the magnitude of instantaneous velocity. Why?
A bolt of mass 0.3 kg falls from the ceiling of an elevator moving down with an uniform speed of 7 m s-1. It hits the floor of the elevator (length of the elevator = 3 m) and does not rebound. What is the heat produced by the impact? Would your answer be different if the elevator were stationary?
A transverse harmonic wave on a string is described by
y(x,t) = 3.0 sin [36t + 0.018x + π /4]
Where x and y are in cm and t in s. The positive direction of x is from left to right.
(a) Is this a travelling wave or a stationary wave? If it is travelling, what are the speed and direction of its propagation?
(b) What are its amplitude and frequency?
(c) What is the initial phase at the origin?
(d) What is the least distance between two successive crests in the wave?
A 50 kg girl wearing high heel shoes balances on a single heel. The heel is circular with a diameter 1.0 cm. What is the pressure exerted by the heel on the horizontal floor?
A
A T1>>T2 B T1>T2 C T1