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Definition identification: what correctly represents a heat pump? Select the description/device that best characterizes a heat pump in thermodynamics. Choose the correct option.

Difficulty: Easy

A refrigerator operated so that it delivers heat to a warm space (sink).
A reversed heat engine that uses external work to move heat from cold to hot.
Any device that transfers heat from a low-temperature reservoir to a high-temperature reservoir.
All of the above.

Correct Answer: All of the above.

Explanation:

Given/Concept
A heat pump is a device that moves heat from a colder body to a hotter body by consuming external work. A refrigerator is a heat pump when its useful effect is heating the sink instead of cooling the source.

Option analysis
(A) Correct — a refrigerator viewed from the heating side is a heat pump.(B) Correct — it is a reversed heat engine.(C) Correct — this is the generic definition.

Definition identification: what correctly represents a heat pump? Select the description/device that best characterizes a heat pump in thermodynamics. Choose the correct option.

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