Verified Solution • 2025–26 Session moderate

QPage 76: Q1: HC Verma: Concepts of Physics - Volume 2 Specific Heat Capacities of Gases Page 76: Q1 Solution: Does a gas have just two specific heat capacities or more than…

⚠️ Common Exam Traps & Conceptual Pitfalls

Students often treat specific heat as a fixed property and assume only $C_p$ and $C_v$ exist; however $C$ is defined for any infinitesimal thermodynamic path, so each distinct $P$‑$V$ relation yields a different value, giving an uncountable family of heat capacities. Remember to specify the process (e.g., constant pressure, constant volume, or any other constraint) before assigning a numeric $C$.

Does a gas have just two specific heat capacities or more than two? Is the number of specific heat capacities of a gas countable?

Step-by-Step Verified Solution

**Answer:** No, a gas does not have just two specific heat capacities. The number of specific heat capacities is not countable. **Step-by-Step Explanation:** Specific heat capacity depends on the process followed. Since there are infinitely many possible processes (each with a different PP-VV relation), there are infinitely many specific heat capacities for a gas. CpC_p and CvC_v are just two special cases for isobaric and isochoric processes respectively [citation:2].

All Questions in this Chapter

QPage 76: Q1 QPage 76: Q2 QPage 76: Q3 QPage 76: Q4 QPage 76: Q5 QPage 76: Q6 QPage 76: Q7 QPage 76: Q8 QPage 76: Q9 QPage 76: Q10 QPage 77: Q1 QPage 77: Q2 QPage 77: Q3 QPage 77: Q4 QPage 77: Q5 QPage 77: Q6 QPage 77: Q7 QPages 76-77: Q1 QPages 76-77: Q2 QPages 76-77: Q3 QPages 76-77: Q4 QPages 76-77: Q5 QPages 76-77: Q6 QPages 76-77: Q7 QPages 76-77: Q8 QPages 76-77: Q9 QPages 76-77: Q10 QPages 76-77: Q11 QPages 76-77: Q12 QPages 76-77: Q13 QPages 77-80: Q1 QPages 77-80: Q2 QPages 77-80: Q3 QPages 77-80: Q4 QPages 77-80: Q5 QPages 77-80: Q6 QPages 77-80: Q7 QPages 77-80: Q8 QPages 77-80: Q9 QPages 77-80: Q10 QPages 77-80: Q11 QPages 77-80: Q12 QPages 77-80: Q13 QPages 77-80: Q14 QPages 77-80: Q15 QPages 77-80: Q16 QPages 77-80: Q17 QPages 77-80: Q18 QPages 77-80: Q19 QPages 77-80: Q20 QPages 77-80: Q21 QPages 77-80: Q22 QPages 77-80: Q23 QPages 77-80: Q24 QPages 77-80: Q25 QPages 77-80: Q26 QPages 77-80: Q27 QPages 77-80: Q28 QPages 77-80: Q29 QPages 77-80: Q30 QPages 77-80: Q31 QPages 77-80: Q32 QPages 77-80: Q33 QPages 77-80: Q34 QPages 77-80: Q35

Related Learning Resources & Exam Preparation

Chapter Practice Bank
Practice all topic-wise questions from Specific Heat Capacities of Gases
Reference Textbook Solutions
Explore complete chapter exercises for HC Verma: Concepts of Physics - Volume 2
Competitive PYQ Question Bank
Browse year-wise authentic previous years' questions with solutions
Authentic CBT Mock Tests
Simulate official exam environment with live timer and percentile scoring