Answer:
23 J
Explanation:
According to the law of conservation of energy, the total heat given off to the surroundings by a refrigerator is equal to the work done by the refrigerator and the heat removed from the inside of the refrigerator.
So we can write:
[tex]Q_{h} = W+Q_{c}[/tex]
where
[tex]Q_{c}[/tex] is the heat removed from the cold reservoir (the inside of the refrigerator)
W is the work done
[tex]Q_{h}[/tex] is the work released into the hot reservoir (the surroundings)
Here we have:
[tex]Q_c=+17 J[/tex] (heat removed from the inside of the refrigerator)
[tex]Q_h=+40 J[/tex] (heat released into the surroundings)
Solving the equation for W, we find the work done:
[tex]W=Q_h-Q_c=40-17=23 J[/tex]