Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/paper-2/7/a/solution

The required Legendre transform is the Helmholtz free energy, up to an additive constant. Its differential is , so and . Equality of mixed partial derivatives for a smooth thermodynamic state gives the Maxwell relation
Next use the total differential . Along a fixed-pressure path, divide by to get . Substitute the Maxwell relation to obtain
Multiplying by gives the usual difference between the heat capacity at constant pressure and the heat capacity at constant volume.

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