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Title:
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What's Entropy? Student Understanding of Thermodynamics in an Introductory Physics Course*
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Meeting:
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Location:
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Space 4 |
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Date:
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Tuesday, Jan. 24 |
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Time:
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9:15 a.m.
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Author:
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Warren Christensen, Iowa State Univ.
515-294-1647,
wmchris@iastate.edu
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Co-Author(s):
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David E Meltzer
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Abstract:
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Continuing with our previous investigations into student understanding
of thermal physics in an introductory calculus-based course, we have
probed students' ideas regarding entropy and the second law of
thermodynamics. Nearly 90% of students enrolled in the class have had
previous exposure to thermodynamics concepts in chemistry and/or high
school physics courses, so many have specific ideas about these
concepts before instruction begins. We will present free-response and
multiple-choice data collected both pre- and post-instruction from the
previous three semesters. Evidence suggests that many key concepts,
e.g., that the entropy of the universe increases for all non-ideal
processes, remain highly resistant to instruction, although students
seem to make progress in understanding certain thermodynamic
relationships.
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Footnotes:
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*Supported in part by NSF grants DUE-#9981140 and PHY-#0406724
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