🔥 Thermodynamics — Intermediate#

Scope — Laws of thermodynamics, state variables, and quantitative energy accounting.

Key concepts#

• First law of thermodynamics — conservation of energy: ΔU = Q − W.
• State variables — properties like pressure, volume, temperature, and internal energy.
• Thermodynamic processes — isothermal, adiabatic, isobaric, and isochoric transformations.

Seed Q&A triads#

• Q: What does the first law guarantee?
  A: Energy is conserved; it can change form but cannot be created or destroyed.

• Q: Why are state variables important?
  A: Their values depend only on the system’s state, not the path taken to reach it.

• Q: How does an adiabatic process differ from an isothermal one?
  A: Adiabatic processes exchange no heat; isothermal processes maintain constant temperature.

Short exercises#

• Calculate work done during an isobaric expansion.
• Compare internal energy changes for isothermal versus adiabatic compression.