What is the total work (in joules) in going from the initial to the final state by way of the preceding two steps?

Question

One mole of an ideal gas is contained in a cylinder with a movable piston. The temperature is constant at 72°C. Weights are removed suddenly from the piston to give the following sequence of three pressures.

a. P₁ = 4.60 atm (initial state)

b. P₂ = 2.63 atm

c. P₃ = 1.00 atm (final state)

What is the total work (in joules) in going from the initial to the final state by way of the preceding two steps?

Answer 1

w = nRT ln (Pf/Pi)

w = (1 mol)(8.314 J/Kmol)(345K) ln (1 atm/4.60 atm)

w = 2868 J (-1.53)

w = -4377 J