Thermodynamics Quiz

Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The four laws of thermodynamics provide a quantitative description of these quantities, but may be explained in terms of microscopic constituents by statistical mechanics. Thermodynamics applies to a wide variety of topics in science and engineering, especially physical chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering. The initial application of thermodynamics to mechanical heat engines was quickly extended to the study of chemical compounds and chemical reactions. Chemical thermodynamics studies the nature of the role of entropy in the process of chemical reactions and has provided the bulk of expansion and knowledge of the field. Thermodynamics can be used to describe how systems respond to changes in their environment, and this can be applied to a wide variety of topics in science and engineering. Classical thermodynamics primarily studies systems in thermodynamic equilibrium, while non-equilibrium thermodynamics deals with systems that are not in thermodynamic equilibrium. Thermodynamics is principally based on a set of four laws which are universally valid when applied to systems that fall within the constraints implied by each. These laws are the zeroth law, the first law, the second law, and the third law.Overview of Thermodynamics

• Thermodynamics is the branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy.
• The first law of thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or converted from one form to another.
• The second law of thermodynamics states that heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder body to a hotter body.
• The third law of thermodynamics states that as the temperature of a system approaches absolute zero, all processes cease and the entropy of the system approaches a minimum value.
• A thermodynamic system is a precisely defined region of the universe under study, separated from the surroundings by a boundary.
• Energy can be transferred into a system by heating, compression, or addition of matter, and extracted from a system by cooling, expansion, or extraction of matter.
• Conjugate variables are pairs of thermodynamic concepts, with the first being akin to a "force" applied to some thermodynamic system, the second being akin to the resulting "displacement," and the product of the two equaling the amount of energy transferred.
• Thermodynamic potentials are different quantitative measures of the stored energy in a system, used to measure the energy changes in systems as they evolve from an initial state to a final state.
• Axiomatic thermodynamics is a mathematical discipline that aims to describe thermodynamics in terms of rigorous axioms.
• Applied fields of thermodynamics include chemical thermodynamics, statistical thermodynamics, and engineering thermodynamics.
• Thermodynamics has many applications, including in the design of engines, refrigeration systems, and power plants.
• Thermodynamics is a fundamental concept in many areas of science and engineering, including chemistry, physics, and materials science.