THERMAL PHYSICS (MCQ )

1. An ideal gas expands isothermally, doing 2500 J of external work in the process. The thermal
energy absorbed by the gas in this process is

A. zero.

B. less than 2500 J.

C. equal to 2500 J.

D. more than 2500 J.

(1)

2. Which of the following correctly describes the changes in the kinetic energy of the molecules
and the potential energy of the molecules as a liquid changes phase to a gas?

potential energy of the

kinetic energy of the molecules
molecules

A. no change increases

B. no change no change

C. increases increases

D. increases no change
(1)

3. Some liquid wax is placed in cool air so that the wax freezes. What are the changes, if any, in
the entropy of the wax and of the cool air as the wax is freezing?

freezing wax cool air

A. constant increases
B. increases decreases
C. decreases constant
D. decreases increases
(1)

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4. The entropy of a system is a measure of the system’s

A. disorder.

B. mean energy.

C. temperature.

D. total energy.
(1)

5. The molar mass of water is 18 g. The approximate number of water molecules in a glass of
water is
22
A. 10 .
25
B. 10 .
28
C. 10 .
31
D. 10 .
(1)

6. Thermal energy is transferred through the glass windows of a house mainly by

A. conduction.

B. radiation.

C. conduction and convection.

D. radiation and convection.

(1)

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7. A metal block of mass M is heated. The graph shows the variation with thermal energy H
supplied to the block of its temperature rise .

0
0 H

The gradient of the straight-line graph is n. The specific heat capacity of the metal is

A.
1 .
Mn

B.
1.
n

C. Mn.

D. n.
(1)

8. Which one of the following is a correct statement of the second law of thermodynamics?

A. When the state of a system changes its entropy increases.

B. When the state of a system changes its entropy decreases.

C. The total entropy of the universe is increasing with time.

D. The total entropy of the universe is decreasing with time.

(1)

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9. The first law of thermodynamics may be expressed in terms of the quantities below.

U, the increase in the internal energy of the system

Q, the energy transferred to the system by heating
W, the work done on the system

Which one of the following is a correct statement of the law?

A. W = U + Q

B. W = −U − Q

C. W = U − Q

D. W = −U + Q
(1)

10. A liquid is contained in a dish open to the atmosphere.

Which one of the following contains three factors that affect rate of evaporation of the liquid?

A. Temperature of the liquid Surface area Specific latent heat of vaporization

B. Temperature of the liquid Mass of liquid Specific latent heat of vaporization

C. Surface area Mass of liquid Temperature of the liquid

D. Mass of liquid Surface area Specific latent heat of vaporization

(1)

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11. Two ideal gases X and Y, are contained in a cylinder at constant temperature. The mass of the
atoms of X is m and of Y is 4m.

Which one of the following is the correct value of the ratio

average kinetic energy of the atoms of Y

?
average kinetic energy of the atoms of X

A. 1

B. 2

C. 4

D. 16
(1)

12. Temperature is the only property that determines

A. the total internal energy of a substance.

B. the phase (state) of a substance.

C. the direction of thermal energy transfer between two bodies in thermal contact.

D. the process by which a body loses thermal energy to the surroundings.

(1)

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13. The diagram shows the pressure/volume (p/V) diagram for one cycle PQRS of an engine.

p
Q R

In which sections of the cycle is work done on the engine?

A. SP only

B. PQ only

C. SP and PQ only

D. RS and SP only
(1)

14. The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of the universe is

A. increasing.

B. decreasing.

C. zero.

D. constant but not zero.

(1)

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15. The equation of state of an ideal gas is

pV = nRT.

In this equation, the constant n is the number of

A. atoms in the gas.

B. molecules in the gas.

C. particles in the gas.

D. moles of the gas.

(1)

16. The specific latent heat of vaporization of a substance is the quantity of energy required to

A. raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius.

B. convert a unit mass of liquid to vapour at constant temperature and pressure.

C. convert a unit mass of solid to vapour at constant temperature and pressure.

D. convert a unit mass of liquid to vapour at a temperature of 100°C and a pressure of one
atmosphere.
(1)

17. In one cycle of a heat engine, 300 J of energy is absorbed and 200 J of energy is ejected. The
efficiency of the engine is

3
A. .
2

2
B. .
3

1
C. .
2

1
D. .
3
(1)

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18. Which of the following is the internal energy of a system?

A. The total thermal energy gained by the system during melting and boiling.

B. The sum of the potential and the kinetic energies of the particles of the system.

C. The total external work done on the system during melting and boiling.

D. The change in the potential energy of the system that occurs during melting and boiling.
(1)

19. As part of an experiment to determine the latent heat of vaporisation of water, a student boils
some water in a beaker using an electric heater as shown below.

beaker
h e a te r

w a te r

The student notes two sources of error.

Error 1: thermal energy is lost from the sides of the beaker

Error 2: as the water is boiling, water splashes out of the beaker

Which of the following gives the correct effect of these two errors on the calculated value for
the specific latent heat?

Error 1 Error 2

A. Increase Decrease

B. Increase No change

C. Decrease Increase

D. Decrease No change
(1)

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20. A substance changes from solid to liquid at its normal melting temperature. What change, if any,
occurs in the average kinetic energy and the average potential energy of its molecules?

Average kinetic energy Average potential energy

A. constant constant
B. increases constant
C. increases decreases
D. constant increases
(1)

21. A gas expands rapidly. The process is approximately

A. isobaric.

B. isothermal.

C. adiabatic.

D. isovolumetric.
(1)

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22. A fixed mass of an ideal gas is heated at constant volume. Which one of the following graphs
best shows the variation with Celsius temperature t with pressure p of the gas?

A . B .
p p

0 0
0 t /° C 0 t /° C

C. D .
p p

0 0
0 t /° C 0 t /° C

(1)

23. The temperature of an ideal gas is reduced. Which one of the following statements is true?

A. The molecules collide with the walls of the container less frequently.

B. The molecules collide with each other more frequently.

C. The time of contact between the molecules and the wall is reduced.

D. The time of contact between molecules is increased.

(1)

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24. When a gas in a thermally insulated cylinder is suddenly compressed, the change of state is

A. adiabatic.

B. isothermal.

C. isobaric.

D. isochoric.
(1)

25. The specific latent heat of vaporization of a substance is greater than its specific latent heat of
fusion because

A. boiling takes place at a higher temperature than melting.

B. thermal energy is required to raise the temperature from the melting point to the boiling
point.

C. the volume of the substance decreases on freezing but increases when boiling.

D. the increase in potential energy of the molecules is greater on boiling than on melting.
(1)

26. The graph below shows the variation with volume of the pressure of a system.

5
P re ssu re / 1 0 5 P a
4 Q

1 P R

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
V o lu m e / m 3

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 The work done in compressing the gas from R to P is

5
A. 5.0 × 10 J.

5
B. 4.5 × 10 J.

5
C. 3.0 × 10 J.

D. 0.
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27. Two different objects are in thermal contact with one another. The objects are at different
temperatures. The temperatures of the two objects determine

A. the process by which thermal energy is transferred.

B. the heat capacity of each object.

C. the direction of transfer of thermal energy between the objects.

D. the amount of internal energy in each object.

(1)

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28.

A
th e rm o m e te r

h e a te r
m e ta l b lo c k

The specific heat capacity of a metal block of mass m is determined by placing a heating coil in
its centre, as shown in the diagram above.

The block is heated for time t and the maximum temperature change recorded is Δθ. The
ammeter and voltmeter readings during the heating are I and V respectively.

The specific heat capacity is best calculated using which one of the following expressions?

VIt
A. c=
m

VI
B. c=
m

m
C. c=
VI

m
D. c=
VIt
(1)

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29. A sample of an ideal gas is held in an insulated container and it undergoes an adiabatic change.
The graph below shows the change in pressure p with change in volume V as the gas changes
from X to Y.

p Y

Which of the following describes correctly the work done and the change in the internal energy
of the gas?

Work done Internal energy

A. on the gas increases
B. on the gas decreases
C. by the gas decreases
D. by the gas increases
(1)

30. A container holds 20 g of neon (mass number 20) and also 8 g of helium (mass number 4).

number of atoms of neon

What is the ratio ?
number of atoms of helium

A. 0.4

B. 0.5

C. 2.0

D. 2.5
(1)

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