Final answer:
True, an adiabatic system does not exchange heat with its surroundings. This occurs in adiabatic processes, where work done during expansion or compression leads to changes in internal energy without heat transfer. Examples include adiabatic expansion and free expansion of a gas, both resulting in temperature changes that confirm no heat exchange.
Step-by-step explanation:
True, a system that does not exchange any heat with its surroundings is referred to as an adiabatic system. In an adiabatic process, a thermally insulated system does not allow any heat transfer (Q = 0) into or out of the system. As a result, any work done by the system during expansion or by the surroundings during compression leads to a change in the system's internal energy, without heat being involved. For example, during an adiabatic expansion, the system must perform work against the outside environment, leading to a decrease in the system's internal energy and, consequently, a drop in temperature. Conversely, adiabatic compression would increase the temperature as work is done on the system.
Another example of an adiabatic process is the free expansion of a gas, where the gas does no work as it expands into a vacuum, and the system is isolated. Thus, the internal energy remains unchanged, showing that no heat is exchanged even though the system might undergo a change in volume and pressure.
Overall, adiabatic processes are characterized by the lack of heat transfer, and can be achieved either through effective insulation or by rapid progress of the process, leaving little time for heat exchange. Whether in theory or practical application, the first law of thermodynamics confirms the absence of heat transfer by the conservation of internal energy in an isolated system undergoing an adiabatic process.