A heat pump takes in 60.0 J of energy from a 250 K thermal reservoir outside a house and discharges heat energy into a 350 K thermal reservoir inside a house. What is the minimum amount of work needed to make the pump work?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The minimum amount of work needed to make the pump work is given by the expression W_min = Q_h - Q_c/T_h - T_c, where Q_h is the amount of heat absorbed from the hot reservoir (250 K), Q_c is the amount of heat discharged into the cold reservoir (350 K), T_h is the temperature of the hot reservoir in Kelvin, and T_c is the temperature of the cold reservoir in Kelvin. Plugging in the values, we get W_min = 60.0 J - 0/T_0 - 350 K = 24.0 J. Therefore, the minimum amount of work needed to make the pump work is 24.0 J.

A Heat Pump Takes in 60