Past exam of the thermal physics course of the University of Oxford / 2016 / 1 / i

A state function is determined by the equilibrium state, rather than the path used to reach it. Its differential is exact and its change around a closed thermodynamic cycle is zero. Internal energy, entropy and enthalpy are examples; transferred heat and work are not state functions.

For slow expansion in contact with a large thermal reservoir, the fixed temperature of that reservoir maintains an isothermal process. For a fixed amount of ideal gas, internal energy and enthalpy depend only on temperature, soThe ideal gas law also gives $pV=\mathrm{constant}$. For a reversible expansion the absorbed heat equals the work done by the gas, while its entropy increases by $n_{\mathrm{mol}}R\ln (V_2/V_1)$; constant internal energy does not mean zero heat transfer.