Question

Differentiate between Cp and Cv.

Answer 1

Hint: Both Cp and Cv are two terms which are used in thermodynamics. We know that thermodynamics is a branch of physical chemistry that describes the relationship of heat energy with other forms of energy. So, knowing the quantities that are used in the definition of Cp and Cv, we can differentiate between the Cp and Cv.

Complete step by step answer:
The difference between Cp and Cv are mentioned in the tabular form for better understanding:

Cv	Cp
Cv is the amount of heat energy that a substance absorbs or releases with the change in temperature where a volume change does not occur.	Cp is the amount of heat energy that a substance absorbs or releases with the change in temperature where a pressure change does not occur.
Volume is constant	Pressure is constant
$\,\text{Cv = }\dfrac{\text{dU}}{\text{dT}}$	$\text{Cp = }\dfrac{\text{dH}}{\text{dT}}$
Related to the internal energy of the system. Internal system is the sum of potential and kinetic energy of a system.	Related to the enthalpy of a system. Enthalpy is the energy absorbed or released. It is defined as the sum of the internal system and the product of pressure and volume.

From the differences that are mentioned above we can come to the conclusion that, Cp is the specific heat at constant pressure and Cv is the specific heat at constant volume.

Note: Specific heat is the heat energy required to raise the temperature of a substance (per unit mass) by one degree Celsius. The main difference between Cv and Cp is that the volume change is zero for a system under Cv whereas the pressure change is zero for a system under Cp.