Jeffery C. Grossman

Explore the phenomenon of mixing - a crucial process for any situation where the product is composed of more than one material. Focus on the case of oil and water, which are notoriously unmixable, and discover what keeps them separate at the molecular level.

Understand how pressure, volume, and temperature are state functions related by a formula known as the ideal gas law. Contrast these variables with work and heat, learning why they are not state functions. See how the ideal gas law can be used to calculate the work done by a piston.

Define the Gibbs free energy, which is closely related to entropy and allows the determination of equilibrium for systems under realistic experimental conditions. Then encounter a related variable, enthalpy, which is useful when discussing constant pressure processes.

Dig deeper into the properties of phases and phase diagrams. First, see how a flask of water can be made to boil by cooling it. Then, explore why a curve in a phase diagram has a certain slope. Close with a multicomponent phase diagram that explains why salt causes ice to melt.

Continue your study of chemical reactions by contrasting two different types of reactions, shedding light on a crucial factor called the reaction quotient. In the first reaction, study pure compounds reacting together. Then look at dissolved compounds reacting. Learn how to compute the reaction quotient at any concentration.

Learn how different materials vary in their ability to absorb heat. This factor is called heat capacity, and it provides a crucial way to correlate energy flow with temperature. Study the heat capacity of various materials, and see how quantum effects reduce heat capacity at very low temperatures.

Use a classic science fair project - the potato battery - to trace the source of the electron flow that makes batteries so indispensable to modern life. In the process, learn about the electrochemical potential, which describes the underlying thermodynamics of any system in which chemical reactions are occurring together with charged particles.

Explore other basic concepts that are critical to thermodynamics. These include the idea of a system, boundary conditions, processes that occur within systems, the meaning of the state of a system, the definition of equilibrium, and a much-misunderstood quantity called entropy.

Analyze the most central idea of thermodynamics: temperature. Investigate the origin of different temperature scales and the various methods for measuring temperature. See how the concept of temperature is a consequence of the zeroth law of thermodynamics, which deals with the nature of thermal equilibrium.

Marvel at the power of osmosis by investigating the thermodynamic force that drives a liquid to flow from one side of a barrier to another. This force is called the chemical potential gradient, and it has wide application in performing work, from desalinating water to generating electricity.