Free Thermodynamics MCQs with Answers

714 Thermodynamics MCQs from Physics, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

Thermal equilibrium and heat explain how temperature and energy transfer are related, while molar specific heats describe the heat required by a gas at constant volume or constant pressure. The first law connects heat supplied, work done and change in internal energy, with sign conventions kept distinct from temperature changes.

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714 questions · page 3 of 36

  • A. double
  • B. one half
  • C. four times
  • D. one fourth

Explanation: Boyle's law at constant temperature states PV = constant, so P1V1 = P2V2.

Correct answer: one half
  • A. 460°C
  • B. 280°C
  • C. 360°C
  • D. 160°C

Explanation: Use F = (9/5)C + 32 and set the Fahrenheit reading equal to twice the Celsius reading: 2C = (9/5)C + 32, so (1/5)C = 32 and C = 160°C.

Correct answer: 160°C
  • A. 76cm 0°C
  • B. 760mm 273K
  • C. 1atm 273K
  • D. all of the aboveTracking Hyperlocal Weather Forecasts

Explanation: These are equivalent descriptions of standard temperature and pressure: 76 cm Hg = 760 mm Hg = 1 atm, and 0°C = 273 K.

Correct answer: all of the aboveTracking Hyperlocal Weather Forecasts
  • A. One degree of Fahrenheit scale
  • B. 1.8 degrees of Fahrenheit scale
  • C. 3.2 degrees of Fahrenheit scale
  • D. 2.12 degrees of Fahrenheit scale

Explanation: The interval conversion is ΔF = (9/5)ΔC. Hence, a change of 1°C corresponds to (9/5) × 1 = 1.8°F, so it is 1.8 degrees on the Fahrenheit…

Correct answer: 1.8 degrees of Fahrenheit scale
  • A. 37°C
  • B. 42°C
  • C. 55°C
  • D. 410°C

Explanation: Convert using C = (5/9)(F - 32): C = (5/9)(98.6°F - 32°F) = (5/9)(66.6°F) = 37°C. Thus normal body temperature is approximately 37°C.

Correct answer: 37°C
  • A. 1.38 x 10^-31JK-1
  • B. 3.18 x 10^-31JK-1
  • C. 3.18 x 10^-23JK-1
  • D. 1.38 x 10^-23JK-1

Explanation: Boltzmann's constant has the value k = 1.38 x 10^-23 J K^-1, linking temperature with the energy of individual particles.

Correct answer: 1.38 x 10^-23JK-1
  • A. Over a wide range of temperature its expansion is uniform
  • B. It does not stick to thermometer glass
  • C. It opaque to light
  • D. All of above

Explanation: Mercury is useful in thermometers because it expands nearly uniformly over a useful temperature range, does not wet or stick to glass, and…

Correct answer: All of above
  • A. Mercury takes a long time to contract
  • B. The amount of mercury use is very small
  • C. The capillary tube has a small constriction near the bulb
  • D. The capillary tube is very narrow

Explanation: A clinical thermometer has a narrow constriction near the bulb that prevents the mercury column from returning immediately when the…

Correct answer: The capillary tube has a small constriction near the bulb
  • A. its pressure is constant
  • B. its pressure rises
  • C. its pressure falls
  • D. any of above

Explanation: At constant volume, the ideal-gas relation P/T = constant applies, so pressure increases directly with absolute temperature.

Correct answer: its pressure rises
  • A. isochoric processes
  • B. isobaric processes
  • C. isothermal processes
  • D. adiabatic processes

Explanation: Boyle's law states that for a fixed amount of gas at constant temperature, PV = constant, or P is inversely proportional to V.

Correct answer: isothermal processes
  • A. volume
  • B. pressure
  • C. absolute temperature
  • D. time

Explanation: The average translational kinetic energy of a molecule is (3/2)kT, where k = 1.38 x 10^-23 J K^-1 and T is absolute temperature in kelvin.

Correct answer: absolute temperature
  • A. Boyles law
  • B. Charles law
  • C. Ideal gas law
  • D. Avagadros law

Explanation: At constant pressure, the ideal-gas law gives V/T = constant, so density ρ = m/V is inversely proportional to absolute temperature T.

Correct answer: Charles law
  • A. 1 atmosphere
  • B. 1 Newton per square meter
  • C. 1 Pascal
  • D. data is insufficient

Explanation: A mercury column of height 76 cm, equal to 760 mm, at 0°C produces the standard atmospheric pressure of 1 atm.

Correct answer: 1 atmosphere
  • A. Heat engine
  • B. Human body
  • C. Atmosphere
  • D. Laboratory

Explanation: Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions in a living organism through which nutrients are converted into usable energy and other…

Correct answer: Human body
  • A. Frictional process
  • B. Chemical processes
  • C. Electrical processes
  • D. All of the above

Explanation: Heat can be generated by friction, released during chemical reactions, and produced when electrical energy is dissipated as resistance…

Correct answer: All of the above
  • A. Hyperbola
  • B. Parabola
  • C. A curve of any shape
  • D. A straight lime

Explanation: Boyle's law gives PV = constant at constant temperature, so V = constant × 1/P.

Correct answer: A straight lime
  • A. The temperatures of water at 0? 100?C
  • B. The temperature of melting ice and boiling water at atmospheric pressure
  • C. The temperatures of ice cold and boiling water
  • D. The temperatures of frozen and boiling mercury

Explanation: Temperature scales use two reproducible reference temperatures: the melting point of ice and the boiling point of water, both measured at…

Correct answer: The temperature of melting ice and boiling water at atmospheric pressure
  • A. How much heat a body contains
  • B. Whether a body will feel hot or cold to touch
  • C. In which direction heat will flow between two systems
  • D. How much total absolute energy a body has

Explanation: Temperature determines the direction of heat transfer: heat flows spontaneously from the body at higher temperature to the body at lower…

Correct answer: In which direction heat will flow between two systems
  • A. non-renewable
  • B. stable
  • C. renewable
  • D. none of the above

Explanation: Geothermal energy uses heat from inside the Earth, which is continually replenished by natural geological processes, so it is classified…

Correct answer: renewable
  • A. heat energy into electrical energy
  • B. heat energy into light energy
  • C. heat energy into mechanical energy
  • D. mechanical energy into heat energy

Explanation: A thermocouple uses the Seebeck effect: a temperature difference between two junctions produces an EMF and hence electrical energy.

Correct answer: heat energy into electrical energy