Irreversibility in a thermodynamic process is most closely associated with which of the following?

Irreversibility in a thermodynamic process is primarily associated with energy losses due to friction and heat loss. In any real-world thermodynamic process, some energy is invariably converted to forms that are not useful for performing work, largely due to the presence of irreversible factors such as friction and various forms of dissipation (e.g., heat loss).

When a system undergoes a process, and there are irreversibilities, it indicates that the process cannot be reversed without leaving a change in the surroundings. For instance, if a system does work and generates friction, or if there is heat transfer to the environment that isn't converted back into useful work, this signifies energy being lost in a way that makes achieving the original state impossible without external input.

In contrast, other options can be less closely tied to the concept of irreversibility. While work done on the system or energy gained from the surroundings can occur in reversible processes, they do not inherently introduce irreversibilities. Likewise, heat transfer without work done is another scenario that may occur in both reversible and irreversible processes, but it does not specifically encapsulate the essence of irreversibility like friction and heat losses do. Thus, the linkage of irreversibility to energy lost due to friction and heat