Elementary Notes on Classical Thermodynamics

EDULEARN19 Proceedings, 2019

Thermodynamics is hard, according to a widely extended opinion of students that major in engineering, chemistry or science, and of many instructors, around the world. The difficulties in learning the subject have different sources pertaining to the contents, the textbooks, the students, the instructors, the academic institutions, etc. This paper particularly addresses those difficulties in learning the subject that can be traced back to the features of the content matter itself. The study is part of a program of research that investigates in an integral manner the main factors of the problem. A review of pertinent literature, a critical analysis of programs of study with their learning objectives, and many technical debates by a group of experts in physics teaching, pedagogy and psychology, led to the identification of the following set of difficulties directly linked to the content matter of thermodynamics. a) Some of the principles of this subject can be stated in various ways, wh...

Science & Education, 1996

The analysis of a certain number of textbooks on Thermodynamics is expounded with the aim of showing that several “mental representations” of this subject matter are present in scientific literature. This analysis points out divergent attitudes not only towards the definition of fundamental concepts principles, but also towards the epistemological status of Thermodynamics. These attitudes underlie-sometimes tacitly-the relationship between the macroscopic and the microscopic approach on one side and between the “state” or “process” approach on the other. We also show the importance of both the historical reconstruction and the epistemological analysis for a deeper understanding of what these different mental representations underlie and entail.

Science & Education, 1994

Recently, some teachers have launched proposals for teaching physics by starting from thermodynamics rather than from mechanics. Such proposals are included in Mach's thesis, according to which thermodynamics is more basic for theoretical physics than mechanics. The past history of such a thesis is quickly sketched. Then, by recent results in theoretical physics, it is qualified in a new, modern version. As such it appears as an instance of a general conflict between two radically different ways to produce theoretical physics. The conflict results from two different options, about both the kind of mathematics and the kind of the organization of the theory. After such a general illustration of the great relevance of history of physics for physics teaching, the cultural bounds of such proposals are recognized and discussed.

American Journal of Physics, 2012

We suggest a simple approach to introducing thermodynamics, beginning with the concept of internal energy of deformable bodies. From a series of thought experiments involving ideal gases, we show that the internal energy depends on the volume and on a second parameter, leading to the development of the concept of entropy. By introducing entropy before the notions of temperature and heat, the proposed approach avoids some of the major conceptual difficulties with the traditional presentation. The relationship between mechanics and thermodynamics naturally emerges, mechanics corresponding to isentropic thermodynamics. The questions of evolution to equilibrium and irreversibility are studied under the light of the action of the "dynamic force" and its dissipative character, evincing the benefits of keeping in mind the microscopic picture. V C 2012 American Association of Physics Teachers.

Chemical engineering education, 1993

(Berkeley). He taught thermodynamics and statistical mechanics as well as rr.aterials science for chemical engineers at the University of Florida from 1966-88. His research on varieties of fluids involves theory, molecular simulation, and experiment.

Re-introducing science, 2019

This study refers to the distinction between the macroscopic and microscopic frameworks of thermodynamics and its impact on the teaching and learning of essential principles of the field, such as the conservation of energy through the first law of thermodynamics. We engage in an epistemological analysis and a cognitive approach in order to investigate the limits of the two frameworks and the outcomes of their conflation. From the viewpoint of epistemology, we present a historiographical analysis and also a textbook analysis reflecting the formation of the separate branches of classical and statistical thermodynamics. Through the approach of the cognitive aspect, we report the results from the recent body of research that implies that the blending of the two frameworks impedes the students' accurate interpretations of thermodynamic processes. On this account, we suggest that the macroscopic framework is sufficient for the teaching and learning of introductory level thermodynamics and we briefly present the design principles and results of a teaching and learning sequence for the first law of thermodynamics in upper secondary school students.

2013

As well as many other people, we have felt, both as students and as teachers, that some traditional approaches present ambiguities and logical inconsistencies in the exposition of the basics of thermodynamics. Since the late ’80s we have adopted an approach developed over thirty years of course and research work at M.I.T.: rooted in the work of Hatsopoulos and Keenan [1], it has been presented in a systematic and detailed way by Gyftopoulos and Beretta [2]. On the basis of our teaching experience we believe that this approach is particularly suited for students attending engineering programs and our goal here is to underline the most important reasons of its success. In the paper we summarize and discuss how we have adapted the sequence of arguments proposed in [2, Chaps. 2-14] to meet the needs of undergraduate engineering students.

Education Sciences, 2021

Pregraduate students often have low success expectations toward their thermodynamics courses, which are often considered too abstract and remarkably difficult to understand. For this reason, they may not even try to reach any level of comprehension while settling for reproducing mathematical calculations and memorizing definitions to pass the exams. Traditional lectures on thermodynamics, focusing on mathematical deductions while neglecting the qualitative characterization of the concepts behind the equations, do not help in this respect. Aiming at a change in the teaching practice and focused on the second law of thermodynamics, the main goals of this work are to characterize the way of reasoning of the expert; to present a review on the most important learning difficulties encountered by students and categorize them into three groups: the disregard of qualitative understanding, the inherent conceptual difficulties, and those related to the students’ previous knowledge; and to prop...