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Heat, Work, and Entropy: A Molecular Level Illustration

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Abstract

This worksheet is intended to help students understand the difference between heat and work at the molecular level and to appreciate the proper use of the term (dis)order when applied to entropy. The worksheet makes use of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and classical thermodynamics to illustrate these differences. The worksheet is simple to execute and has been tested in both Mathcad versions 6 and 8. Questions and exercises are placed throughout the worksheet that help guide students and draw connections between concepts. The author has found that the illustration is best appreciated after classical thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics have been introduced. However, the worksheet can be used at several other places in the physical chemistry curriculum but students have great difficulty in understanding the implications of the particle-in-a-box if background material is not provided.

Figure 1. The population of states (pInitial) as a function of quantum number (n) for a one-dimensional box at 273 K.

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Version	Download
Mathcad 11	WorkandHeat3DHighT.mcd

Version	Download
Mathcad	WorkandHeat3DHighT.pdf

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Keywords

Domain: Physical Chemistry;

Pedagogy: Computer-Based Learning;

Topics: Mathematics / Symbolic Mathematics; Quantum Chemistry; Statistical Mechanics; Thermodynamics;

JCE Citation