An inventor suggests that a house might be heated by using a refrigerator to draw energy as heat from the ground and reject energy as heat into the house.He claims that the energy supplied to the house can exceed the work required to run the refrigerator.This:
A)is impossible by first law
B)is impossible by second law
C)would only work if the ground and the house were at the same temperature
D)is impossible since heat flows from the (hot)house to the (cold)ground
E)is possible

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This describes a heat pump system, which can indeed supply more energy (as heat) to a house than the electrical (or other forms of) work input required to run the system. This is because the system is moving heat from a cooler place (the ground) to a warmer place (the house), rather than generating the heat directly. This process is consistent with both the first and second laws of thermodynamics.

An Inventor Suggests That a House Might Be Heated by Using