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When work is done by a system, does the internal energy of the system increase or decrease?

User Dejakob
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1 Answer

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26 votes
Answer:

Decrease

Step-by-step explanation:

The mathematical relationship between heat, internal energy and work done by the system is given as:

△U = Q + W

where △U is the change in the internal energy

W is the workdone by the system

Q is the heat energy in the system

Since the workdone by the system is negative, when a system does work, there is a depletion in the amount of energy possessed by the system.

Due to this loss of energy by the system as a result of the workdone, the internal energy decreases.

User David Burton
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