This study investigated the introduction of the second law of thermodynamics using the Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) (semantic waves) among first year chemistry students. The aim of the study was to investigate the extent LTC (semantic waves) reduce the entropy concept's complexity and abstractness when introducing the second law of…

Historically, classical thermodynamics was developed during attempts to improve the efficiency of steam engines. Those investigations led to the well-known zeroth, first, and second laws of thermodynamics. Although these laws are presented independently, linkages between the zeroth and second laws have been pointed out in the physics teaching…

The second law of thermodynamics has various formulations. There is the "Clausius formulation," which can be stated in a very intuitive way: "No process is possible whose sole result is the transfer of heat from a cooler to a hotter body." There is also the "Kelvin-Plank principle," which states that "no cyclic…

The change in enthalpy of a chemical reaction conducted at constant pressure is equal to the heat of the reaction plus the nonexpansion work of the reaction, ?H = qP + w[subscript additional]. After deriving that relationship, most general and physical chemistry textbooks set w[subscript additional] = 0 to arrive at the claim that ?H = qP, and…

The first law of thermodynamics does not forbid heat engines with 100% thermodynamic efficiency; it is the second law of thermodynamics which states that heat engines cannot obtain 100% efficiency. Can the first law ever show this second law result? Yes. We show that the first law alone can show that some heat engines cannot achieve efficiencies…

The argument that the second law of thermodynamics contradicts the theory of evolution has recently been revived by anti-evolutionists. In its basic form, the argument asserts that whereas evolution implies that there has been an increase in biological complexity over time, the second law, a fundamental principle of physics, shows this to be…

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…

An alternative method of presenting the second law of thermodynamics in introductory courses is presented. The emphasis is on statistical approaches as developed by Atkins. This has the benefit of stressing the statistical nature of the law.

We discuss the development and validation of a conceptual multiple-choice survey instrument called the survey of thermodynamic processes and first and second laws (STPFaSL) suitable for introductory physics courses. The survey instrument uses common student difficulties with these concepts as resources in that the incorrect answers to the…

This study concentrates on evaluating the consistency of upper-division students' use of the second law of thermodynamics at macroscopic and microscopic levels. Data were collected by means of a paper and pencil test (N = 48) focusing on the macroscopic and microscopic features of the second law concerned with heat transfer processes. The data…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) require teachers to understand aspects of energy degradation and the second law of thermodynamics, including energy's availability and usefulness, changes in energy concentration, and the tendency of energy to spread uniformly. In an effort to develop learning goals that support teachers in building…

We discuss the development and validation of the long version of a conceptual multiple-choice survey instrument called the Survey of Thermodynamic Processes and First and Second Laws-Long suitable for introductory physics courses. This version of the survey instrument is a longer version of the original shorter version developed and validated…

Geologists have always embraced the time arrow in order to reconstruct the past geology of Earth, thus turning geology into a historical science. The covert assumption regarding the direction of time from past to present appears in Nicolas Steno's principles of stratigraphy. The intuitive-metaphysical nature of Steno's assumption was based on a…

A logical question to be expected from students: "How could life develop, that is, change, evolve from simple, primitive organisms into the complex forms existing today, while at the same time there is a generally observed decline and disorganization--the second law of thermodynamics?" The explanations in biology textbooks relied upon by…

Despite its relevance to all scientific domains, the debate surrounding the teaching of energy is still open. The main point remains the problems students have in understanding some aspects of the energy concept and in applying their knowledge to the comprehension of natural phenomena. In this paper, we present a research-based interdisciplinary…