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How many degrees of freedom does a system containing liquid water and steam at a constant temperature and pressure have?

a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 0

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The system containing liquid water and steam at a constant temperature and pressure has 1 degree of freedom, meaning setting one intensive property fixes the other. For the steam and ice question, when heat is exchanged, steam gains entropy and loses order, whereas ice loses entropy and gains order. The correct option is (a) gained, lost, lost, gained.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question about the degrees of freedom for a system containing liquid water and steam at a constant temperature and pressure is related to the concept of phase equilibria in thermodynamics. According to the phase rule, the degrees of freedom (F) of a system can be calculated using the formula F = C - P + 2, where C is the number of components in the system and P is the number of phases. In the case of liquid water and steam, there is only one component (water) and two phases (liquid and gas).

Applying the phase rule: F = C - P + 2 = 1 - 2 + 2 = 1. Therefore, the system has 1 degree of freedom, which means that after setting one intensive property (such as temperature or pressure), the other gets fixed, and no further variables can be independently changed without altering the phase of the system. This is consistent with our observations of water boiling at a specific temperature for a given pressure, which is a characteristic of a system with such constrain.

In response to the second half of the question regarding steam and ice interaction, the exchange of heat leads to the steam releasing entropy (order increases), while the ice absorbs heat and its entropy increases (order decreases). The correct option for the steam entropy and order, while the ice entropy and order, is b. gained, lost, lost, gained.

The final answer to the number of degrees of freedom for a system containing liquid water and steam at a constant temperature and pressure is (a) 1.

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