I am given the information that an air parcel undergoes isobaric heating from 0° C to 20° C, and that's all I'm given. I have to determine the work done by the parcel on its surroundings. I know that $dW = pdV$, and that $pV = RT$ ($V$ is the specific volume), but I don't know how to go about solving this in terms of the change in temperature and not the change in volume.
[Physics] Work Done in an Isobaric Process
homework-and-exercisesideal-gasthermodynamics
Best Answer
That's easy. Since it's isobaric the pressure is constant and the work is just $P\Delta V$, where $\Delta V$ is the total volume change. You just need to calculate the change in volume from the change in temperature when $P$ is constant, and you can get this from the equation $PV = RT$ that you wrote in your question.