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Mechanical Engineering Department

Jadavpur University

Engineering Thermodynamics
Problem Sheet 1 Basics and Temperature
1. One standard atmosphere is defined as the pressure produced by a column of mercury exactly
76 cm high, at a temperature of 0 o C, and at a point where g = 980.665 cm/s 2. (a) Why do the
temperature and the acceleration of gravity have to be specified in this definition? (b) Compute
the pressure in N/m2 produced by a column of mercury of density 13.6 g/cc, 76 cm height at a
point where g = 980 cm/s2.
2. Two containers of gas are connected by a long, thin, thermally insulated tube. Container A is
surrounded by an adiabatic boundary, but the temperature of container B can be varied by
bringing it into contact with a body C at a different temperature. In the following figure, these
systems are shown with a variety of boundaries. Which figure represents (a) a control volume
enclosed by an adiabatic boundary; (b) a control volume enclosed by a diathermal boundary; (c)
a system enclosed by a diathermal boundary; (d) a system enclosed by an adiabatic boundary.

3. (a) Describe how a system containing two gases can be in mechanical but not in thermal or
chemical equilibrium. (b) Describe how a system containing two gases can be in thermal but not
in mechanical or chemical equilibrium. (c) Describe how a system containing two gases can be
in thermal and mechanical equilibrium but not in chemical equilibrium.
4. Characterise the following processes. (a) The temperature of a gas, enclosed in a cylinder
provided with a frictionless piston, is slowly increased. The pressure remains constant. (b) A
gas, enclosed in a cylinder provided with a piston, is slowly expanded. The temperature remains
constant. There is a force of friction between the cylinder wall and the piston. (c) A gas,
enclosed in a cylinder provided with a frictionless piston, is quickly compressed. (d) A piece of
hot metal is thrown into cold water. (Assume that the system is the metal which neither
contracts nor expands.) (e) A pendulum with a frictionless support swings back and forth. (f) A
bullet is stopped in a target.
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5. A pressure gauge reads 2.10 MPa and the barometer reads 98 kPa. Calculate the absolute
pressure. [2.198 MPa]
6. The height of mercury manometer column used to measure a vacuum is 700 mm, and the
barometer reads 97 kPa. Determine the absolute pressure. [3.6 kPa]
7. Given the vessel shown in the following figure with pressure gauges indicating readings of A =
3 bar gauge and B = 1 bar gauge. If the barometer reads 735.56 mm of Hg, determine the
reading on the gauge C and convert this value to absolute value. [4 bar gauge, 4.981 bar abs]

A B C

8. The acceleration of gravity is given as a function of elevation above sea level by

g = 980.6 – 3.806×10-6H,
where g is in cm/s2, and H is in cm. If an aeroplane weighs 90,000 N at the sea level, what is the gravity
force upon it at 10,000 m elevation? What is the percentage difference from the sea level weight?
9. Prove that the weight of a body at an elevation H above the sea-level is given by W = (mgo) ×
[d/(d+2H)]2, where d is the diameter of the earth, go= acceleration due to gravity at sea level.
10. The basic barometer can be used to measure the height of a building. If the barometric readings
at the top and at the bottom of a building are 730 and 760 mm Hg, respectively, determine the
height of the building. Assume an average air density of 1.18 kg/m3.
11. Two cylinders are connected by a piston as shown below. Cylinder A is used as a hydraulic lift
and pumped up to 500 kPa. The piston mass is 15 kg and there is standard gravity. What is the
gas pressure inside cylinder B?

12. The limiting value of the ratio of the pressure of gas at steam point and at the triple point of water when
the gas is kept at constant volume is found to be 1.36605. What is the ideal gas temperature of the steam
point? [PKN 30] Ans.100OC
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13. In the table below, a number in the top row represents the pressure of a gas in the bulb of a constant-
volume gas thermometer (corrected for dead space, thermal expansion of bulb etc.) when the bulb is
immersed in a water triple point cell. The bottom row represents the corresponding readings of pressure
when the bulb is surrounded by a material at a constant unknown temperature. Calculate the ideal gas
temperature of this material. Use five significant figures. [Zem 24]
PTP, mm Hg 1000 750.00 500.00 250.00
P, mm Hg 1535.3 1151.6 767.82 383.95
14. In a constant volume gas thermometer the following pairs of pressure readings were taken at the
boiling point of water and the boiling point of sulphur, respectively:
Water b.p. 50.0 100 200 300
sulphur b.p. 96.4 193 387 582
The numbers are the gas pressures, mm Hg, each pair being taken with the same amount of gas
in the thermometer, but the successive pairs being taken with different amounts of gas in the
thermometer. Plot the ratio of pressures Sb.p. : H2Ob..p. against the reading at the water boiling
point, and extrapolate the plot to zero pressure at the water boiling point. This gives the ratio of
Sb.p. : H2Ob..p. on a gas thermometer operating at zero pressure, that is an ideal gas thermometer.
What is the boiling point of sulfur on the gas scale, from your plot? [PKN 31] Ans.445oC
15. A platinum resistance thermometer has a resistance of 2.8 ohm at 0 oC and 3.8 ohm at 100oC. Calculate
the temperature when the resistance indicated is 5.8 ohm. [PKN 30] Ans.300oC
16. The resistance of a platinum wire is found to be 11.000 ohms at the ice point, 15.247 ohms at the steam
point, and 28.887 ohms at the sulfur point. Find the constants A and B in the equation
R = R0(1 + At + Bt2)
and plot R against t in the range 0oC to 660oC. [PKN 31]
17. A platinum wire is used as a resistance thermometer. The wire resistance was found to be 10 ohm and 16
ohm at the ice point and steam point respectively, and 30 ohm at sulphur point of 444.6 oC. Find the
resistance of the wire at 500oC, if the resistance varies with temperature by the relation:
R = R0(1 + αt + βt2). [PKN 32] Ans.31.3 ohm
18. The resistance of the windings in certain motor is found to be 80 ohms at room temperature (25 oC).
When operating at full load under steady steady state conditions, the motor is switched off and the
resistance of the windings, immediately measured again, is found to be 93 ohms. The windings are made
up of copper whose resistance at toC is given by
Rt = R0(1 + 0.00393t)
where R0 is the resistance at 0oC. Find the temperature attained by the coil during full load. [PKN 31-32]
Ans.70.41oC
19. The e.m.f. of a thermocouple with the test junction at toC on gas thermometer scale and
reference junction at ice point is given by
ε = 0.20t – 5*10-4 t2 mV.
The millivoltmeter is calibrated at ice and steam points. What will this thermometer read in a place
where the gas thermometer reads 50oC? [PKN 29] Ans.58.33oC
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20. When one junction of a thermocouple is kept at the ice point, and the other junction is at a
Celsius temperature t, the e.m.f. ε of the thermocouple is given by a quadratic function of t:
ε = αt + βt2.
If ε is in millivolts, the numerical values of α and β for a certain thermocouple are found to be
α = 0.50, β = -1*10-3.
(a) Compute the e.m.f. when t = -100oC, 200oC, 400oC, and 500oC, and sketch a graph of ε versus t. (b)
Suppose the e.m.f. is taken as a thermometric property and that a temperature scale t* is defined by the
linear equation
t* = aε + b.
Let t* = 0 at the ice point, t* = 100 at the steam point. Find the numerical values of a and b and sketch a
graph of ε versus t*. (c) find the values of t* when t -= -100oC, 200oC, 400oC, and 500oC, and sketch a
graph of t* versus t over this range. (d) Is the t* scale a Celcius scale? Dose it have any advantage or
disadvantage compared with the IPTS scale? [Sea 21]

21.

0.999980
H2O
0.999960
Density g cm-3

0.999940

0.999920

0.999900

0 2 4 6 8
Temperature (oC)
A water-in-glass thermoscope is to be used to determine if two separated systems are in thermal
equilibrium. The density of water shown in the above figure, is the thermometric parameter. Suppose
that when the thermoscope is inserted into each system, the water rises to the same height, corresponding
to a density of 0.999945 g cm-3. (a) Are the systems necessarily in thermal equilibrium? (b) Could the
height of the water in the thermoscope change if the systems are brought into thermal contact? (c) If
there is a change in part (b), would the height increase or decrease? [Sea 20]
22. Two mercury in glass thermometers are made of identical materials and are accurately
calibrated at 0oC and 100oC. One has a tube of constant diameter, while the other has a tube of
conical bore, ten percent greater in diameter at 100 oC than at 0oC. Both thermometers have the
length between 0 and 100 subdivided uniformly. What will be the straight bore thermometer
reading in a place where the conical bore thermometer reads 50oC? [PKN 28] Ans. 47.7oC
23. Systems A, B, and C are gases with coordinates P,V; P',V'; P'',V''. When A and C are in
thermal equilibrium, the equation PV – nbP – P''V'' = 0 is found to be satisfied. When B and C
are in thermal equilibrium, the relation P'V' -P''V'' + nB'P''V''/V' = 0 holds. The symbols n, b,
and B' are constants.
(a) what are the three functions which are equal to one another at thermal equilibrium and each of which
is equal to t, where t is the empirical temperature?
(b) What is the relation expressing thermal equilibrium between A and B? [Zem 23]