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The documents and all material contained therein are (c) Dean Baird. All rights reserved. They may be used by teachers and students for classroom instruction. Beyond that, no part of these documents may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
| GUIDES | ||
| 1 | Thermal
Expansion Why do most objects expand when heated? |
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| 2 | Phase Change The story of phases--from solid to liquid to gas--and the transitions from one to another. |
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| 3 | FaStudy: Thermodynamics The quick-n-dirty essentials of thermodynamics. Coming soon...ish. |
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| JOBS | ||
| 1 | Molecular Speed Distribution Springboard - Answers A classroom discussion activity to clarify the concept of molecular speed distribution as is applies to the kinetic theory of heat. |
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| 2 | Kinetic
Theory Just some exercises to help distinguish between high average kinetic energy and high average speed. |
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| 3 |
Phase
Change Graphing - Answers Student plots temperature versus heat for heating water from solid to liquid to gas. |
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| 4 |
The First Law of Thermodynamics Springboard
- Answers Introduction to the relationship between the change in internal energy of a gas, heat added to the gas, and work done ON the gas. Conforms to the "chemists" first law: it's all about what happens to the gas. Yucko! |
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| 5 |
PV
Processes Springboard - Answers Get your isobars, isochors, isotherms, and adiabats here (and find out what they are). |
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| 6 |
PV
Cycles Springboard - Answers The nitty gritty play-by-play of what an engine does and how it does it. |
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| DEMOS | ||
| 1 | Pinocchio Pipe A demonstration of linear thermal expansion made visible. |
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| DISCONTINUED |
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| Specific
Heat Capacity Opens with a heating race between four equal-mass samples. Develops specific heat equation step-by-step. |
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| WeatherSchool:
Specific Heat and Climate; Convection and Wind at the Beach - Answers Why do coastal cities in the West enjoy nicer weather than coastal cities in the East? Why does the wind at the beach change direction when the sun goes down? |
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Send comments, corrections, suggestions, rants, raves, and recipes to Dean Baird at dbaird@mac.com.