Physics 224A Assignments

Period May 16 through May 25

  • Study sections 5.1 through 5.6 of Notes on Second Law of Thermodynamics.
  • Read carefully through my Notes on Entropy. Make sure that you understand the words that are used, even if you do not bother to follow the mathematics.
  • Study sections 20-1 through 20-6 of Giancoli, or secs. 24-1 through 24-7 of HRK, or secs 22-1 through 22-6 of SJ; section 18-6 is almost all that Knight has about entropy, except for some very general remarks at the beginning of Chapter 19.
  • Read through secs. 20-7 though 20-9 of Giancoli, or secs. 24-8 and 24-9 of HRK, or secs 22-7 and 22-8 of SJ.
  • There will be a short test on Monday morning, May 21.
  • Problem Set 7 should be handed in on Friday, May 25, by 10:30 am.
  • I will produce a Problem Set 8 for you to work on and discuss with me if you want to, but there will not be time to grade it.
  • You should think about the course as a whole, and try to fit things together in your minds.
  • I will produce my own Summary of the course by the final week of classes.

    Week of May 15 to May 19

  • Study sections 5.1 through 5.4 of Notes on Second Law of Thermodynamics.
  • Study sections 20-1 through 20-4 of Giancoli, or section 18.6 and Chapter 19 of Knight.

    • Week May 9 to May 16: More kinetic theory and statistical mechanics; start second law of thermodynamics.

  • Boltzmann distribution and the use of probability theory; Brownian movement and fluctuations. General principles of thermodynamics; Carnot cycle for ideal gas.
  • Study Solutions to Problem Set 5.
  • Study sections 4.5 through 4.7 of Notes on Kinetic Theory and Statistical Mechanics.
  • Study secs. 18.6, 18.7 of Giancoli, or secs. 22-3 through 22-6 in RHK, or Chaper 21 .5, 21.6 in SJ.
  • Optional reading: Chapter 16 of Boas, Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences; Notes on Kinetic Theory and Statistical Mechanics, secs. 4.8 through 4.9.
  • Start studying the relevant chapters on the second law of thermodynamics. Chapter 19 in Gi, or sec. 18.6 and Chapter 19 in Kt, or Chapter 24 of RHK, or Chaper 22 in SJ; Notes on the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
  • There will be a short test on Monday morning, May 14.
  • Problem Set 6 should be handed in on Friday, May 18 in class, or in my mailbox by 10:30 am.

    Period April 27 to May 9: Kinetic theory and statistical mechanics.

  • Gas laws; Pressure as force due to molecules. Temperature as kinetic energy per degree of freedom. Molar specific heats of gases and solids.
  • There will be a Midterm Examination on Monday, April 30, and it will cover the first three sections of my notes, and the corresponding reading assigned from Knight, Giancoli, Resnick Halliday and Krane, etc. Only a general understanding, rather than detailed knowledge, will be expected for those sections that I have asked you to "read" rather than to "study". You may consult one sheet of notes, and should have a calculator available. No computers or cell phones may be used.
  • Read my notes on the midterm examination.
  • Study Solutions to Problem Set 4.
  • Study sections 4.1 through 4.5 of Notes on Kinetic Theory and Statistical Mechanics.
  • Study chapter 18 of Giancoli, or secs. 18-1 through 18-5 of Knight, or secs. 22-1 through 22-6 in RHK, or Chaper 21 in SJ.
  • Look carefully at the graded midterm, and at my solutions and comments on the midterm.
  • There will be a short test on Monday morning, May 7.
  • Problem Set 5 should be handed in on Wednesday, May 9, in class, or in my mailbox by 5 pm.

    Week of April 18 to April 25: Heat, work, energy and the first law.

  • Examples of heat, work and internal energy. Specific heats of ideal gas at constant volume and constant pressure; free expansion and adiabatic expansion. Heat transfer by conduction, radiation, and various forms of convection. Cosmic background radiation. Applications to building, cooking, and the weather.
  • I will be away from Saturday, April 28 to Tuesday, May 1, but I should be able to post the solutions on the Monday afternoon or evening.
  • Study sections 3.5 through 3.9 of Notes on Heat, Work, Energy and the First Law. Note that on Tuesday, April 17, I added discussion of adiabatic expansion to these notes, which you can find on pages 33-34 and 41.
  • Study section 19-10 of Giancoli or section 23-7 of RHK, or section 20.7 of SJ. I cannot find anything relevant in Knight, so you need to use other sources of information on heat transfer.
  • There will be a ten minute test at 10:30-10:40 on Monday, April 23.
  • Hand in solutions to first four questions of Problem Set 4 by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 25.
    • Week of April 11 to April 18: Continue with temperature and thermal equilibrium. Start on heat, work, energy, and the first law.
  • Equations of state and phase diagrams. Saturated and relative vapor pressure, melting pressure.
  • Heat as energy; heat capacity and latent heat; calorimetry.
  • Study Solutions to Problem Set 2.
  • Study secs. 2.6 through 2.8 of Notes on Temperature and Thermal Equilibrium, and secs. 3.1 through 3.4 of Notes on Heat, Work, Energy and the First Law .
  • Study secs. 19-1 through 19-6 of Giancoli, or secs. 17.1 through 17.6 of Knight, or secs. 23-1 through 23-5 of RHK, or secs. 20.1 through 20.6 of SJ.
  • Work on Problem Set 3, to be ready for discussion on Monday, April 16. These should be handed in on Wednesday, April 18, by 5 pm.
  • There will be a ten minute test at 10:30-10:40 on Monday, April 16, starting at 10:30.

    • April 4 to April 11: Temperature and thermal equilibrium.

  • Heat flow from higher temperature to lower temperature; thermal conduction and insulation; thermal expansion and other methods of temperature measurement; ideal gas thermometer and real gases.
  • Study secs. 2.1 through 2.5 of Notes on Temperature and Thermal Equilibrium; study Chapter 17 (except sec. 17-5) of Giancoli, or Chapter 16 of Knight, or Chapter 21 of HRK, or Chapter 19 of SJ.
  • Study Solutions to Problem Set 1.
  • There will be a ten minute test on Monday, April 9.
  • Be ready to discuss Problem Set 2 in class on Monday. Hand in solutions to first four questions of Problem Set 2 by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 11.
  • There will be the usual office hours on Monday, 2-3, and Tuesday, 3-4, in PAB B417, or in my office, B423, next door if there are very few people.
  • Problems can be handed in at the beginning or end of the class, or in my mailbox in the room opposite the elevators on the first floor of the Physics-Astronomy Building (except between 12:00 and 1:00, when the mail room is locked), or under the door in my office, PAB B423.

    Period March 26 through April 4: Introduction. Fluids and solids,

  • Density, pressure, buoyancy. A little about fluid flow and solids.
  • Study secs. 1.1 through 1.6 of Notes on fluids.
  • Study secs. 13-1 through 13-6 of Giancoli, or secs. 15-1 through 15-4 of Knight, or secs. 15-1 through 15-5 of HRK (Halliday, Resnick and Krane), or secs. 14.1 through 14.4 of SJ (Serway and Jewett).
  • There will be a ten minute test, 10:30-10:40 on Monday, April 2.
  • Read the Introduction and sections 1.7, 1.8 and 1.9 of Notes on Fluids; read secs. 12-5, and 13-7 through 13-11 of Giancoli, or secs. 15-5 and 15-6 of Knight, or secs. 16-1 through 16-4 of HRK, or secs. 11.4 and 14.5 through 14.7 of SJ.
  • Start work on Problem Set 1, to be ready for the discussion on Monday, April 2.
  • Hand in solutions to first four questions of Problem Set 1 by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 4.
    • They can be handed in at the beginning or end of the class, or in my mailbox in the room opposite the elevators on the first floor of the Physics-Astronomy Building (except between 12:00 and 1:00, when the mail room is locked), or under the door in my office, PAB B423.