Practice question · Match the pairs
Match each thermodynamic coefficient to what it measures.
- Thermal expansivity
- Isothermal compressibility
- Pressure coefficient
- Heat capacity
- Fractional volume reduction per unit pressure at fixed temperature
- Energy needed per unit temperature rise
- Fractional volume change per unit temperature at fixed pressure
- Fractional pressure change per unit temperature at fixed volume
Hints
- Each coefficient holds one variable fixed while varying another.
- Three are fractional response coefficients; one is an energy per degree.
Show the answer
- Thermal expansivity → Fractional volume change per unit temperature at fixed pressure
- Isothermal compressibility → Fractional volume reduction per unit pressure at fixed temperature
- Pressure coefficient → Fractional pressure change per unit temperature at fixed volume
- Heat capacity → Energy needed per unit temperature rise
Why
Each of the first three is a fractional response with one variable held fixed, and they are linked by because any two of , , determine the third. Heat capacity is an energy per degree, not a fractional response.
Practise The Zeroth Law and Thermodynamic Coefficients
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