In an adiabatic process, what does the work done depend on?

In an adiabatic process, the work done is determined by the starting and ending states of the system. This is because, in thermodynamics, an adiabatic process is characterized by no heat exchange with the surroundings, meaning that all energy changes in the system are due to work done.

In such a process, the First Law of Thermodynamics states that the change in internal energy of the system equals the work done on or by the system. Therefore, the work can be calculated based on the differences in temperature, pressure, or volume between the initial and final states. This relationship indicates that the work done relies specifically on these two states rather than the exact details of how the process was carried out (the path taken), the materials involved, or the specific temperature changes during the transition.