A gas undergoes an adiabatic expansion with γ = 5/3. How does the slope of the PV curve at any point compare to an isothermal process?
Correct: A
For an isothermal process, dP/dV = -P/V. For adiabatic, dP/dV = -γP/V. Since γ > 1, the adiabatic slope is steeper in magnitude. This requires differentiating both PV = nRT and PV^γ = constant.