When a thermodynamic system completes one full cycle of changes, returning exactly to its starting state, its net change in internal energy is?

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1. When a thermodynamic system completes one full cycle of changes, returning exactly to its starting state, its net change in internal energy is?

Always positive

Always negative

Exactly zero

Impossible to determine

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Internal energy is a state function, depending only on the system’s current state, not its history. Returning to the exact same starting state means the net change over a full cycle must be zero.