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Date May 2012 Marks available 1 Reference code 12M.1.HL.TZ2.12
Level Higher level Paper Paper 1 Time zone Time zone 2
Command term Question number 12 Adapted from N/A

Question

The following statement refers to question 11 and question 12.

A gas is contained in a thermally insulated cylinder by a freely moving piston. The volume of the gas is increased reversibly by moving the piston.

Which of the following gives the correct entropy change of the gas and the surroundings?

 

 

 

Markscheme

D

Examiners report

There were many comments on this question from the teachers, ranging from it being unfair to it being impossible. The physics of the situation is clear, though. The process is adiabatic, as there is no thermal energy transfer involved. It is also reversible. Hence there is no change of entropy either in the gas or the surroundings (Entropy change = ΔQ/T). Alternatively it can be argued that the total entropy cannot decrease, hence, by elimination, D must be the best answer. This question is covered by the syllabus item 10.3.3 and was deemed fair.

Syllabus sections

Option B: Engineering physics » Option B: Engineering physics (Core topics) » B.2 – Thermodynamics
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