Connexions module: m42232

The First Law of Thermodynamics

OpenStax College

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Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0

Abstract

Version

Dene the rst law of thermodynamics.

Describe how conservation of energy relates to the rst law of thermodynamics.
Identify instances of the rst law of thermodynamics working in everyday situations, including
biological metabolism.
Calculate changes in the internal energy of a system, after accounting for heat transfer and work
done.
1.6: Feb 24, 2014 2:37 pm -0600

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Figure 1: This boiling tea kettle represents energy in motion. The water in the kettle is turning to
water vapor because heat is being transferred from the stove to the kettle. As the entire system gets
hotter, work is donefrom the evaporation of the water to the whistling of the kettle. (credit: Gina
Hamilton)

If we are interested in how heat transfer is converted into doing work, then the conservation of energy
principle is important. The rst law of thermodynamics applies the conservation of energy principle to
systems where heat transfer and doing work are the methods of transferring energy into and out of the
system. The rst law of thermodynamics states that the change in internal energy of a system equals
the net heat transfer into the system minus the net work done by the system. In equation form, the rst
law of thermodynamics is

U = Q W .

(1)

Here U is the change in internal energy U of the system. Q is the net heat transferred into the systemthat
is, Q is the sum of all heat transfer into and out of the system. W is the net work done by the systemthat
is, W is the sum of all work done on or by the system. We use the following sign conventions: if Q is
positive, then there is a net heat transfer into the system; if W is positive, then there is net work done by
the system. So positive Q adds energy to the system and positive W takes energy from the system. Thus
U = Q W . Note also that if more heat transfer into the system occurs than work done, the dierence is
stored as internal energy. Heat engines are a good example of thisheat transfer into them takes place so
that they can do work. (See Figure 2.) We will now examine Q, W , and U further.
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The rst law of thermodynamics is the conservation-of-energy principle stated for a system
where heat and work are the methods of transferring energy for a system in thermal equilibrium. Q
represents the net heat transferit is the sum of all heat transfers into and out of the system. Q is
positive for net heat transfer into the system. W is the total work done on and by the system. W is
positive when more work is done by the system than on it. The change in the internal energy of the
system, U , is related to heat and work by the rst law of thermodynamics, U = Q W .
Figure 2:

The rst law of thermodynamics is actually the law of conservation of energy stated in a form
most useful in thermodynamics. The rst law gives the relationship between heat transfer, work
done, and the change in internal energy of a system.
:

1 Heat Q and Work W

Heat transfer (Q) and doing work (W ) are the two everyday means of bringing energy into or taking
energy out of a system. The processes are quite dierent. Heat transfer, a less organized process, is
driven by temperature dierences. Work, a quite organized process, involves a macroscopic force exerted
through a distance. Nevertheless, heat and work can produce identical results.For example, both can cause
a temperature increase. Heat transfer into a system, such as when the Sun warms the air in a bicycle tire,
can increase its temperature, and so can work done on the system, as when the bicyclist pumps air into
the tire. Once the temperature increase has occurred, it is impossible to tell whether it was caused by heat
transfer or by doing work. This uncertainty is an important point. Heat transfer and work are both energy in
transitneither is stored as such in a system. However, both can change the internal energy U of a system.
Internal energy is a form of energy completely dierent from either heat or work.

2 Internal Energy U
We can think about the internal energy of a system in two dierent but consistent ways. The rst is the
atomic and molecular view, which examines the system on the atomic and molecular scale. The internal
energyU of a system is the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of its atoms and molecules. Recall
that kinetic plus potential energy is called mechanical energy. Thus internal energy is the sum of atomic and
molecular mechanical energy. Because it is impossible to keep track of all individual atoms and molecules,
we must deal with averages and distributions. A second way to view the internal energy of a system is in
terms of its macroscopic characteristics, which are very similar to atomic and molecular average values.

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Macroscopically, we dene the change in internal energy U to be that given by the rst law of thermodynamics:

U = Q W .

(2)

Many detailed experiments have veried that U = Q W , where U is the change in total kinetic and
potential energy of all atoms and molecules in a system. It has also been determined experimentally that
the internal energy U of a system depends only on the state of the system and not how it reached that
state. More specically, U is found to be a function of a few macroscopic quantities (pressure, volume, and
temperature, for example), independent of past history such as whether there has been heat transfer or
work done. This independence means that if we know the state of a system, we can calculate changes in its
internal energy U from a few macroscopic variables.
:
In thermodynamics, we often use the macroscopic picture when making calculations of how a
system behaves, while the atomic and molecular picture gives underlying explanations in terms of
averages and distributions. We shall see this again in later sections of this chapter. For example,
in the topic of entropy, calculations will be made using the atomic and molecular view.

To get a better idea of how to think about the internal energy of a system, let us examine a system going
from State 1 to State 2. The system has internal energy U1 in State 1, and it has internal energy U2 in State
2, no matter how it got to either state. So the change in internal energy U = U2 U1 is independent of
what caused the change. In other words, U is independent of path. By path, we mean the method of getting
from the starting point to the ending point. Why is this independence important? Note that U = Q W .
Both Q and W depend on path, but U does not. This path independence means that internal energy U is
easier to consider than either heat transfer or work done.

Example 1: Calculating Change in Internal Energy: The Same Change in

duced by Two Dierent Processes

is Pro-

(a) Suppose there is heat transfer of 40.00 J to a system, while the system does 10.00 J of work.
Later, there is heat transfer of 25.00 J out of the system while 4.00 J of work is done on the system.
What is the net change in internal energy of the system?
(b) What is the change in internal energy of a system when a total of 150.00 J of heat transfer
occurs out of (from) the system and 159.00 J of work is done on the system? (See Figure 3).

Strategy

In part (a), we must rst nd the net heat transfer and net work done from the given information.
Then the rst law of thermodynamics (U = Q W ) can be used to nd the change in internal
energy. In part (b), the net heat transfer and work done are given, so the equation can be used
directly.

Solution for (a)

The net heat transfer is the heat transfer into the system minus the heat transfer out of the
system, or

Q = 40.00J 25.00 J = 15.00 J.

(3)

Similarly, the total work is the work done by the system minus the work done on the system, or

W = 10.00J 4.00J = 6.00 J.

(4)

Thus the change in internal energy is given by the rst law of thermodynamics:

U = Q W = 15.00J 6.00J = 9.00 J.

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We can also nd the change in internal energy for each of the two steps. First, consider 40.00 J of
heat transfer in and 10.00 J of work out, or

U1 = Q1 W1 = 40.00J 10.00J = 30.00 J.

(6)

Now consider 25.00 J of heat transfer out and 4.00 J of work in, or

U2 = Q2 W2 = 25.00J (4.00J) = 21.00 J.

(7)

The total change is the sum of these two steps, or

U = U1 + U2 = 30.00J + (21.00J) = 9.00 J.

(8)

Discussion on (a)

No matter whether you look at the overall process or break it into steps, the change in internal
energy is the same.

Solution for (b)

Here the net heat transfer and total work are given directly to be Q = 150.00 J and
W = 159.00 J, so that

U = Q W = 150.00 J (159.00 J) = 9.00 J.

Discussion on (b)

A very dierent process in part (b) produces the same 9.00-J change in internal energy as in part
(a). Note that the change in the system in both parts is related to U and not to the individual
Qs or W s involved. The system ends up in the same state in both (a) and (b). Parts (a) and (b)
present two dierent paths for the system to follow between the same starting and ending points,
and the change in internal energy for each is the sameit is independent of path.

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Two dierent processes produce the same change in a system. (a) A total of 15.00 J of heat
transfer occurs into the system, while work takes out a total of 6.00 J. The change in internal energy
is U = Q W = 9.00 J. (b) Heat transfer removes 150.00 J from the system while work puts 159.00
J into it, producing an increase of 9.00 J in internal energy. If the system starts out in the same state
in (a) and (b), it will end up in the same nal state in either caseits nal state is related to internal
energy, not how that energy was acquired.
Figure 3:

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2.1 Human Metabolism and the First Law of Thermodynamics

Human metabolism is the conversion of food into heat transfer, work, and stored fat.

Metabolism is an
interesting example of the rst law of thermodynamics in action. We now take another look at these topics
via the rst law of thermodynamics. Considering the body as the system of interest, we can use the rst law
to examine heat transfer, doing work, and internal energy in activities ranging from sleep to heavy exercise.
What are some of the major characteristics of heat transfer, doing work, and energy in the body? For one,
body temperature is normally kept constant by heat transfer to the surroundings. This means Q is negative.
Another fact is that the body usually does work on the outside world. This means W is positive. In such
situations, then, the body loses internal energy, since U = Q W is negative.
Now consider the eects of eating. Eating increases the internal energy of the body by adding chemical
potential energy (this is an unromantic view of a good steak). The body metabolizes all the food we consume.
Basically, metabolism is an oxidation process in which the chemical potential energy of food is released. This
implies that food input is in the form of work. Food energy is reported in a special unit, known as the Calorie.
This energy is measured by burning food in a calorimeter, which is how the units are determined.
In chemistry and biochemistry, one calorie (spelled with a lowercase c) is dened as the energy (or heat
transfer) required to raise the temperature of one gram of pure water by one degree Celsius. Nutritionists
and weight-watchers tend to use the dietary calorie, which is frequently called a Calorie (spelled with a
capital C). One food Calorie is the energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one
degree Celsius. This means that one dietary Calorie is equal to one kilocalorie for the chemist, and one must
be careful to avoid confusion between the two.
Again, consider the internal energy the body has lost. There are three places this internal energy can
goto heat transfer, to doing work, and to stored fat (a tiny fraction also goes to cell repair and growth).
Heat transfer and doing work take internal energy out of the body, and food puts it back. If you eat just
the right amount of food, then your average internal energy remains constant. Whatever you lose to heat
transfer and doing work is replaced by food, so that, in the long run, U = 0. If you overeat repeatedly,
then U is always positive, and your body stores this extra internal energy as fat. The reverse is true if
you eat too little. If U is negative for a few days, then the body metabolizes its own fat to maintain body
temperature and do work that takes energy from the body. This process is how dieting produces weight loss.
Life is not always this simple, as any dieter knows. The body stores fat or metabolizes it only if energy
intake changes for a period of several days. Once you have been on a major diet, the next one is less successful
because your body alters the way it responds to low energy intake. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the
rate at which food is converted into heat transfer and work done while the body is at complete rest. The
body adjusts its basal metabolic rate to partially compensate for over-eating or under-eating. The body
will decrease the metabolic rate rather than eliminate its own fat to replace lost food intake. You will chill
more easily and feel less energetic as a result of the lower metabolic rate, and you will not lose weight as
fast as before. Exercise helps to lose weight, because it produces both heat transfer from your body and
work, and raises your metabolic rate even when you are at rest. Weight loss is also aided by the quite low
eciency of the body in converting internal energy to work, so that the loss of internal energy resulting from
doing work is much greater than the work done.It should be noted, however, that living systems are not in
thermalequilibrium.
The body provides us with an excellent indication that many thermodynamic processes are irreversible.
An irreversible process can go in one direction but not the reverse, under a given set of conditions. For
example, although body fat can be converted to do work and produce heat transfer, work done on the body
and heat transfer into it cannot be converted to body fat. Otherwise, we could skip lunch by sunning ourselves
or by walking down stairs. Another example of an irreversible thermodynamic process is photosynthesis.
This process is the intake of one form of energylightby plants and its conversion to chemical potential
energy. Both applications of the rst law of thermodynamics are illustrated in Figure 4. One great advantage
of conservation laws such as the rst law of thermodynamics is that they accurately describe the beginning
and ending points of complex processes, such as metabolism and photosynthesis, without regard to the
complications in between. Table 1: Summary of Terms for the First Law of Thermodynamics, U=QW

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presents a summary of terms relevant to the rst law of thermodynamics.

(a) The rst law of thermodynamics applied to metabolism. Heat transferred out of the body
(Q) and work done by the body (W ) remove internal energy, while food intake replaces it. (Food intake
may be considered as work done on the body.) (b) Plants convert part of the radiant heat transfer in
sunlight to stored chemical energy, a process called photosynthesis.
Figure 4:

Summary of Terms for the First Law of Thermodynamics, U=QW

Term

Denition

Internal energythe sum of the kinetic and potential energies of a system's atoms and molecules.
Can be divided into many subcategories, such as
thermal and chemical energy. Depends only on the
state of a system (such as its P , V , and T ), not
on how the energy entered the system. Change in
internal energy is path independent.
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Heatenergy transferred because of a temperature

dierence. Characterized by random molecular motion. Highly dependent on path. Q entering a system is positive.

Workenergy transferred by a force moving

through a distance. An organized, orderly process. Path dependent. W done by a system (either
against an external force or to increase the volume
of the system) is positive.

Table 1

3 Section Summary
The rst law of thermodynamics is given as U = Q W , where U is the change in internal energy
of a system, Q is the net heat transfer (the sum of all heat transfer into and out of the system), and
W is the net work done (the sum of all work done on or by the system).
Both Q and W are energy in transit; only U represents an independent quantity capable of being
stored.
The internal energy U of a system depends only on the state of the system and not how it reached
that state.
Metabolism of living organisms, and photosynthesis of plants, are specialized types of heat transfer,
doing work, and internal energy of systems.

4 Conceptual Questions
Exercise 1

Describe the photo of the tea kettle at the beginning of this section in terms of heat transfer, work
done, and internal energy. How is heat being transferred? What is the work done and what is doing
it? How does the kettle maintain its internal energy?

Exercise 2

The rst law of thermodynamics and the conservation of energy, as discussed in Conservation of
Energy1 , are clearly related. How do they dier in the types of energy considered?

Exercise 3

Heat transfer Q and work done W are always energy in transit, whereas internal energy U is energy
stored in a system. Give an example of each type of energy, and state specically how it is either
in transit or resides in a system.

Exercise 4

How do heat transfer and internal energy dier? In particular, which can be stored as such in a
system and which cannot?

Exercise 5

If you run down some stairs and stop, what happens to your kinetic energy and your initial
gravitational potential energy?

Exercise 6

Give an explanation of how food energy (calories) can be viewed as molecular potential energy
(consistent with the atomic and molecular denition of internal energy).
1 "Conservation of Energy" <http://cnx.org/content/m42151/latest/>

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Exercise 7

Identify the type of energy transferred to your body in each of the following as either internal
energy, heat transfer, or doing work: (a) basking in sunlight; (b) eating food; (c) riding an elevator
to a higher oor.

5 Problems & Exercises

Exercise 8

(Solution on p. 11.)

What is the change in internal energy of a car if you put 12.0 gal of gasoline into its tank? The
energy content of gasoline is 1. 3
10 8 J/gal . All other factors, such as the car's
temperature, are constant.

Exercise 9

How much heat transfer occurs from a system, if its internal energy decreased by 150 J while it
was doing 30.0 J of work?

Exercise 10

(Solution on p. 11.)

A system does 1.80 108 J of work while 7.50 108 J of heat transfer occurs to the environment. What is the change in internal energy of the system assuming no other changes (such as in
temperature or by the addition of fuel)?

Exercise 11

What is the change in internal energy of a system which does 4.50 105 J of work while 3.00 106 J
of heat transfer occurs into the system, and 8.00 106 J of heat transfer occurs to the environment?

Exercise 12

(Solution on p. 11.)

Suppose a woman does 500 J of work and 9500 J of heat transfer occurs into the environment in
the process. (a) What is the decrease in her internal energy, assuming no change in temperature or
consumption of food? (That is, there is no other energy transfer.) (b) What is her eciency?

Exercise 13

(a) How much food energy will a man metabolize in the process of doing 35.0 kJ of work with
an eciency of 5.00%? (b) How much heat transfer occurs to the environment to keep his temperature constant? Explicitly show how you follow the steps in the Problem-Solving Strategy for
thermodynamics found in Problem-Solving Strategies for Thermodynamics2 .

Exercise 14

(Solution on p. 11.)

(a) What is the average metabolic rate in watts of a man who metabolizes 10,500 kJ of food energy
in one day? (b) What is the maximum amount of work in joules he can do without breaking down
fat, assuming a maximum eciency of 20.0%? (c) Compare his work output with the daily output
of a 187-W (0.250-horsepower) motor.

Exercise 15

(a) How long will the energy in a 1470-kJ (350-kcal) cup of yogurt last in a woman doing work at
the rate of 150 W with an eciency of 20.0% (such as in leisurely climbing stairs)? (b) Does the
time found in part (a) imply that it is easy to consume more food energy than you can reasonably
expect to work o with exercise?

Exercise 16

(Solution on p. 11.)

(a) A woman climbing the Washington Monument metabolizes 6. 00

10 2 kJ of food
energy. If her eciency is 18.0%, how much heat transfer occurs to the environment to keep her
temperature constant? (b) Discuss the amount of heat transfer found in (a). Is it consistent with
the fact that you quickly warm up when exercising?
2 "Applications of Thermodynamics: Heat Pumps and Refrigerators": Problem-Solving Strategies for Thermodynamics
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Solutions to Exercises in this Module

Solution to Exercise (p. 10)
1.6 109 J

Solution to Exercise (p. 10)

9.30 108 J

Solution to Exercise (p. 10)

(a)
1. 0
(b) 5.00%

10

J , or

2. 39 kcal

Solution to Exercise (p. 10)

(a) 122 W
(b) 2.10 106 J
(c) Work done by the motor is 1.61 107 J ;thus the motor produces 7.67 times the work done by the
man

Solution to Exercise (p. 10)

(a) 492 kJ
(b) This amount of heat is consistent with the fact that you warm quickly when exercising. Since the
body is inecient, the excess heat produced must be dissipated through sweating, breathing, etc.

Glossary
Denition 1: rst law of thermodynamics

states that the change in internal energy of a system equals the net heat transfer
minus the net work done by the system

Denition 2: internal energy

the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of a system's atoms and molecules

Denition 3: human metabolism

conversion of food into heat transfer, work, and stored fat

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into

the system