1.5 kg of air within a piston-cylinder assembly executes a Carnot power cycle with maximum and minimum temperatures of 800 K and 300 K, respectively. The heat transfer from the air during the isothermal compression is 80 kJ. At the end of the isothermal compression, the volume is 0.2 m3. Determine the volume at the beginning of the isothermal compression, in m3. Assume the ideal gas model for air and neglect kinetic and potential energy effects.

Carton cycle consists of four thermodynamic processes . The first is isothermal expansion at higher temperature , then adiabatic expansion which lowers the temperature of gas . The third process is isothermal compression at lower temperature and the last process is adiabatic compression which increases the temperature of the gas to its original temperature .

So the given process of isothermal compression must have been done at the temperature of 300K , keeping the temperature constant .

Work done on gas at isothermal compression is equal to heat transfer .

work done on gas = 80 x 10³ J

work done on gas = n RT ln v₁ / v₂

n is number of moles v₁ and v₂ are initial and final volume

molecular weight of gas = 28.97 g

1.5 kg = 1500 / 28.97 moles

= 51.77 moles

work done on gas = n RT ln v₁ / v₂

Putting the values in the equation above

80 x 10³ = 51.78 x 8.31 x 300 x ln v₁ / .2

ln v₁ / .2 = .62

v₁ / .2 = 1.8589

v₁ = 0.37 m³