I'm having a bit of difficulty grasping the concept of heat flow in isothermal expansion -- most likely because I don't fully grasp the concepts yet. We were given a problem that the professor answered using basic algebra.
When an ideal gas undergoes isothermal expansion a) heat flows into the gas b) heat flows out of the gas c) there is no heat flow in or out d) any of these
From the algebra, it was determined that heat flowed into the gas. I'm convinced that this is the case. However, I was wondering if (D) could be an answer as well. Could heat be flowing into the system and simultaneously out of it? Could this process occur with no heat flow in or out of the system?
I was thinking that (C) could be the reason why (D) isn't the answer, but I think this highlights a misconception that I have about heat flow.
Could someone help me try to conceptually grasp this?