Name

Class..

IB Topic 3. Thermal Physics

STUDENT WORKBOOK

Questions Worksheet #1 Solids Liquids Gases

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1 a) Draw a diagram of each state of matter and describe each state in terms of the
spacing, ordering and motion of atoms or molecules.

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(3)

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(3)

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(3)
b) Describe what is meant by a Kinetic Molecular Theory for Solids Liquids and
Gases.
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(2)

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2. A Student asks on a Physics blog If all matter is either solid, liquid, gas or plasma,
what state of matter is a single atom or molecule? What would you write in answers
to this question?
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(4)

Questions Worksheet #2 - Kinetic theory and Pressure

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1. (a) What do you see when looking at Brownian motion in air?

... (2)
(b) What changes do you see if the air is heated?

... (1)
2. Define pressure and give its units.

(2)
3. List six assumptions that you have to make about molecules when deriving the
equation for the kinetic theory of gases.

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...

(6)

4. (a) A molecule of mass 3x10-26 kg moving at 4 x 102 ms-1 collides elastically with a
wall. What is the change of momentum of the molecule?

Change in momentum = . Unit (3)

(b) How long would it take this molecule to travel a distance of 0.4 m?

Time = .. s (2)
MOST
5. (a) What is meant by the root mean square speed of gas molecules?

... (2)
(b) What is the difference between the root mean square of a group of gas molecules
and their average speed?

... (2)
6. Calculate the root mean square speeds for the following gases at a pressure of 105
Pa:
(a) air density 1.29 kgm-3

root mean square speed = .. ms-1 (2)

(b) carbon dioxide density 1.98 kgm-3

root mean square speed = .. ms-1 (2)

(c) nitrogen density 1.25 kgm

-3

root mean square speed = .. ms-1 (2)

(d) chlorine density 3.21 kgm-3

root mean square speed = .. ms-1 (2)

(e) hydrogen density 0.09 kgm

-3

root mean square speed = .. ms-1 (2)

7. Calculate the pressure of three samples of air of density 1.29 kgm-3 with the
following root mean square speeds:
(a) 4.0 x 102 ms-1

pressure = ..Pa (2)

(b) 5.0 x 102 ms-1

pressure = ..Pa (2)

2

(c)6.0 x 10 ms

-1

pressure = ..Pa (2)

9. A sample of gas of volume 0.1 m3 and at a pressure of 2.0 x 105 Pa is enclosed in a
cylinder. If the root mean square speed of the gas molecules is 5.5 x 102 ms-1 and the
mass of each molecule is 3.5 x 10-26 kg calculate the number of gas molecules in the
cylinder.

Number of gas molecules = (3)

10. A sample of gas at a pressure of 1.5x105 Pa is contained in a cylinder with a
volume of 0.05 m3. If there are 1.2 x 1025 molecules of gas in the cylinder with a root
mean square speed of 350 ms-1, calculate the mass of one gas molecule.

Mass of one gas molecule = kg (3)

SOME
11.Suppose there are N molecules in a
rectangular box of dimensions a, b and l and
suppose that the molecule has a velocity v
with the components as shown.

vy

a) What is the change in velocity of the

particle when it hits the shaded face if the
collision is totally elastic?

vx

vz

a
(1)
b) i) What is the time interval before the
same molecule makes a 2nd collision at the
same face?

(1)
ii) Therefore, what is the frequency of collisions?

(1)
c) From the definition of Pressure and by finding the rate of change of momentum for
one molecule show that for N molecules:

P Nmv 2 / 3V .

(6)

Questions Worksheet #3 Internal Energy

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1. Describe the arrangement of atoms, the forces between the atoms and the motion of
the atoms in:
a) a solid

(3)
b) a liquid

(3)
c) a gas.

(3)
2. A small amount of gas is trapped inside a container. Describe the motion of the gas
atoms as the temperature of the gas within the container in increased.

(3)
3 a) Define the internal energy of a substance.

(1)
b) The temperature of an aluminium block increases when it is
placed in the flame of a Bunsen burner. Explain why this
causes an increase in its internal energy.

(3)

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c) An ice cube is melting at a temperature of 0 C.
Explain whether its internal energy is increasing
or decreasing as it melts at 0C.

(4)
4. Complete the table below for each of the processes shown. Use the symbol + for
an increase, the symbol for a decrease and 0 for no change, as appropriate.

(3)

Questions Worksheet #4 Specific Heat Capacity

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1. What unit is used for all types of energy?
(1)
2. State the equation for the energy needed to raise the temperature of a particular
material of known mass.

(1)
3. Use the following data to calculate the amounts of energy needed to change the
temperature of the questions below.
Material
Copper
Water
Aluminium
Air

Specific heat capacity (J/kg C)

380
4200
880
1000

a) 2kg of water by 5C

(2)
b) 500g of water by 4C

(2)
c) 100g of aluminium from 20C to 30C

(2)
d) 200 g of copper from 60C to 10C

(3)
4. A 2kg block of iron is given 10kJ of energy and its temperature rises by 10C.
What is the specific heat capacity of iron?

(4)

5. Some cooks make toffee. Essentially, this is a process of boiling down a sugar
solution to concentrate it and then allowing the liquid to cool until it sets. Small
children are usually warned not to touch the cooling toffee for a very long time
much longer than the cooling for the same volume of pure water in the same vessel.
Why do you think that the cooling period so long?

(2)
6. Show that the energy required to heat the air in your physics laboratory from a
chilly 10 C to a more comfortable 20 C is about 3 000 000 J if it has the following
dimensions: 3 m 10 m 10 m.

(4)
7. This question is about the operation of an electrically operated shower.

a) The water moves at constant speed through a pipe of cross section 7.5 x 10-5 m2 to a
showerhead. See the diagram. The maximum mass of water which flows per second is
0.090kgs-1.
(i) Show that the maximum speed of the water in the pipe is 1.2ms-1.
Density of water = 1000kg m-3

(2)

(ii) The total cross-sectional area of the holes in the head is half that of the pipe.
Calculate the maximum speed of the water as it leaves the shower head.
Speed = ms-1 (1)

(iii) Calculate the magnitude of the force on the showerhead.

Force = .. N (3)
b) The water enters the heater at the temperature of 15C. At the maximum flow rate
of 0.090kgs-3, the water leaves the shower head at a temperature of 27C.
(i) Calculate the rate at which energy is transferred to the water. Give a suitable unit
for your answer.
Specific heat capacity of water = 4200Jkg-1K-1

Rate of energy transfer = unit .. (4)

(ii) Suggest a reason that the power of the heater must be greater than your answer to
(b)(i)

(1)
(iii) Calculate the maximum possible temperature of the water at the showerhead
when the flow rate is half of the maximum.

Temperature = .C (1)

Questions Worksheet #5 Specific Latent Heat

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1.
Calculate the energy released when (a) 10 g water at 100 C and (b)
10 g of steam at 100 C are each spilt on the hand.
Take the specific heat capacity of water to be 4200 J /kg C and the
specific latent heat of vaporisation of water to be 2.2 MJ / kg.
Assume that the temperature of the skin is 33 C.
a)

(3)
b)

(3)
2.
When a falling hailstone is at a height of 2.00 km its mass is
2.50 g. It has 49.05 J of gravitational potential energy.
Assuming that all of this potential energy is converted to latent
heat during the fall, calculate the mass of the hailstone on
reaching the ground. Take the specific latent heat of fusion of
ice to be 336000 J / kg.

(3)
3.
0.30 kg of ice at 0 C is added to 1.0 kg of water at 45 C. What is
the final temperature, assuming no heat exchange with the
surroundings? Take the specific heat capacity of water to be 4200 J /
kg C and the specific latent heat of fusion of ice to be 340 000 J /
kg.

(3)

4. Why is a scald by steam at 100 oC much more painful than one by water at 100 oC?
Specific latent heat of fusion of ice = 335 000 J kg-1
Specific latent heat of evaporation of water 2.26 MJ kg-1

(3)
o

5. How long will it take a 50 W heater to melt 2 kg of ice at 0 C?

(3)

Questions Worksheet #6 Ideal Gas Equation

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1. What are the Avagadro Constant and the Mole and how are they linked?
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(2)
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2. a) The equation of state of an ideal gas is pV = nRT. Explain why the temperature
must be measured in Kelvin.
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(2)
b) A meteorological balloon rises through the atmosphere until it expands to a volume
of 1.0 x 106 m3, where pressure is 1.0 x 103 Pa. The temperature also falls from 17C
to 43C.
The pressure of the atmosphere at the Earths surface = 1.0 x 105 Pa.
Show that the volume of the balloon at take off is about 1.3 x 104 m3.

(3)
c) The balloon is filled with helium gas of molar mass 4.0 x 10-3kgmol-1 at 17C at a
pressure of 1.0 x 105Pa. Calculate
(i) the number of moles of gas in the balloon

number of moles = . (2)

(ii) the mass of gas in the balloon.

mass = .kg (1)

(d) The internal energy of the helium gas is equal to the random kinetic energy of all
of its molecules. When the balloon is filled at ground level at a temperature of 17C
the internal energy is 1900 MJ. Estimate the internal energy of the helium when the
balloon has risen to a height where the temperature is 43C

Internal energy = MJ (2)

3 a) Very high temperature, for example, the temperature of the solar corona at half a
million degrees, are often stated without a complete unit, i.e. degrees Celsius or
Kelvin.
Suggest why it is unnecessary to give degrees Celsius or Kelvin in this case.

(2)
b) Two students attempt the same experiment to find how air pressure varies with
temperature. They heat identical sealed glass flasks of air, to be considered as an ideal
gas, in an oil bath. The flasks are heated from 300k to 400k The pressure in flask A
rises from atmospheric pressure, p0, as expected, but the pressure in flask B remains at
p0 because the rubber bung is defective and air leaks out of the flask.
(i) Calculate the pressure in flask A at 400K in terms of p0.

Pressure = (2)
(ii) Calculate the fraction, f, of gas molecules in flask B compared to flask A at 400K.
f

number of gas molecules in B at 400K

number of gas molecules in A at 400K

f = . (2)