CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

Quick clarifying question: what is the difference between getting a negative value for w vs a positive value? for example, what is the difference between w=20J vs w=-20J?

When w is negative, it means that work is being done (expansion), while when it is positive, it is compression.

POV is from the system so if the system is doing work, its positive and if its having work done on it its negative

When w is negative, it means that the system is doing work, while when w is positive, it means that the system is having work done on it.

Negative work indicates that the system is doing work on the surroundings so expansion work is done and the system itself is losing energy. Positive work means that the system is being compressed and the surroundings is doing work upon the system so that means its gaining energy.

w represents work. When w is negative, the system is doing work such as expanding. However, when w is positive the system is having work done to it. For example compression of an object by an outside force.

Basically work is represented by "w". negative work means that the system has lost energy since it has itself done work. positive work means that the system has gained energy because something else has done work on the system.

When w is positive, work is being done on the system & when w is negative. the system is doing work. For example, today the system pushed the piston outwards, doing work on the system, making w negative.

Brianna Becerra 1B wrote:When w is negative, it means that work is being done (expansion), while when it is positive, it is compression.

thanks for clarifying I have been so confused!!

the sign of w indicates whether work is being done on the system or the system is working. Remember that the sign of work is in relation to the system.

This can become sort of confusing as U is said to equal both Q+W and Q-W; just try to keep in mind that internal energy is lost if the system DOES work; in the first equation this would mean W is negative and in the second it would be positive. Both mean the same thing.

w is when work is being done one the system. -w is when the system is doing work.

Work is relative to the system. If the system is doing work then it is negative and if work is being done on the system then work positive.

Negative work is work being done by the system because the system is losing energy by doing the work. Positive work is work being done on the system because the system is gaining energy from the work.

w is a change in the internal energy of a system that is caused by a physical change (as opposed to Q which is the heat). if w is positive, then energy is being put into the system (work is being done on the system.

When the work is negative that means that work was done by the system but when work is positive that means that the work was done on the system.