Which of the following $P-V$ curves represents maximum work done?
(1)

Work done in a $P-V$ diagram is equal to the area under the curve. For the same initial and final volumes, a process that maintains a higher pressure throughout the expansion will have a larger area. In most comparative problems, the reversible isothermal expansion (or a specific irreversible path with a large area) provides maximum work. Based on the Paper Code Q6 options:Option 2 (the graph covering the largest area) represents maximum work.