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
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 by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
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 relationNext use the total differential . Along a fixed-pressure path, divide by to get . Substitute the Maxwell relation to obtainMultiplying by gives the usual difference between the heat capacity at constant pressure and the heat capacity at constant volume.
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