Physics › Isochoric Processes
What is true regarding the work performed by a system whose volume remains constant and undergoes an increase in pressure?
The system does no work
The system does work on its surroundings
The surroundings does work on the system
The work done by the system increases the temperature of the system
To answer this question, it's important to remember how work is defined when dealing with volume and pressure.
The equation for the work done by a gas on its surrounding is as follows.
With this equation in mind, we can see that the only time work is performed is when there is a change in volume. Since we're told in the question stem that the volume remains constant as the pressure is increased, the final volume will be equal to the initial volume. Thus, the term will be equal to
and no work will be performed.