A piston is resting halfway into a cylinder containing gas in thermal equilibrium. The layer of molecules next to the closed end of the cylinder is suddenly flash-heated to a very high temperature. Which best describes what happens next? a. The high temperature molecules push out the piston until their energy is reduced enough that the system is in equilibrium.  b. The molecules with the highest temperature bounce off their neighbors, losing energy to them, and so on until the system is at a new equilibrium with the piston moved out.  c. The molecules with the highest temperature bounce offb their neighbors, losing energy to them, and so on until the system is at a new equilibrium with the piston where it started.  d. The high temperature molecules push out the piston until their energy is reduced enough that the system is in equilibrium, and then the piston gets sucked back in.

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Author:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille
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Chapter1: Units, Trigonometry. And Vectors
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 A piston is resting halfway into a cylinder containing gas in thermal equilibrium. The layer of molecules next to the closed end of the cylinder is suddenly flash-heated to a very high temperature. Which best describes what happens next?

a. The high temperature molecules push out the piston until their energy is reduced enough that the system is in equilibrium. 

b. The molecules with the highest temperature bounce off their neighbors, losing energy to them, and so on until the system is at a new equilibrium with the piston moved out. 

c. The molecules with the highest temperature bounce offb their neighbors, losing energy to them, and so on until the system is at a new equilibrium with the piston where it started. 

d. The high temperature molecules push out the piston until their energy is reduced enough that the system is in equilibrium, and then the piston gets sucked back in.

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