Isothermal Vs Adiabatic
For ideal gas, adiabatic curve compared to isothermal is:
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About This Question
- Subject
- physics
- Chapter
- thermodynamics
- Topic
- isothermal vs adiabatic
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
Steeper
Consider the slopes (dP/dV) for both processes on a P-V diagram:
- Isothermal: PV=C⟹P=C/V. Slope =−P/V.
- Adiabatic: PVγ=C⟹P=C/Vγ. Slope =−γ(P/V). Since γ>1 (it is 5/3 for monoatomic, 7/5 for diatomic), the magnitude of the adiabatic slope is always greater than the isothermal slope. This means the adiabatic curve is steeper.
This medium difficulty physics question is from the chapter thermodynamics, covering the topic of isothermal vs adiabatic. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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