We report on an investigation of student understanding of the first law of thermodynamics. The students involved were drawn from first-year university physics courses and a second-year thermal physics course. The emphasis was on the ability of the students to relate the first law to the adiabatic compression of an ideal gas. Although they had studied the first law, few students recognized its relevance. Fewer still were able to apply the concept of work to account for a change in temperature in an adiabatic process. Instead most of the students based their predictions and explanations on a misinterpretation of the ideal gas law. Even when ideas of energy and work were suggested, many students were unable to give a correct analysis. They frequently failed to differentiate the concepts of heat, temperature, work, and internal energy. Some of the difficulties that students had in applying the concept of work in a thermal process seemed to be related to difficulties with mechanics. Our findings also suggest that a misinterpretation of simple microscopic models may interfere with student ability to understand macroscopic phenomena. Implications for instruction in thermal physics and in mechanics are discussed.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
February 2002
PAPERS|
February 01 2002
Student understanding of the first law of thermodynamics: Relating work to the adiabatic compression of an ideal gas Available to Purchase
Michael E. Loverude;
Michael E. Loverude
Department of Physics, Box 351560, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560
Search for other works by this author on:
Christian H. Kautz;
Christian H. Kautz
Department of Physics, Box 351560, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560
Search for other works by this author on:
Paula R. L. Heron
Paula R. L. Heron
Department of Physics, Box 351560, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560
Search for other works by this author on:
Michael E. Loverude
Department of Physics, Box 351560, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560
Christian H. Kautz
Department of Physics, Box 351560, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560
Paula R. L. Heron
Department of Physics, Box 351560, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560
Am. J. Phys. 70, 137–148 (2002)
Article history
Received:
July 23 2001
Accepted:
September 14 2001
Citation
Michael E. Loverude, Christian H. Kautz, Paula R. L. Heron; Student understanding of the first law of thermodynamics: Relating work to the adiabatic compression of an ideal gas. Am. J. Phys. 1 February 2002; 70 (2): 137–148. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1417532
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
On the analogy between spinning disks coming to rest and merging black holes
Domenico Davide Meringolo, Francesco Conidi, et al.
Ergodic Lagrangian dynamics in a superhero universe
I. L. Tregillis, George R. R. Martin
Detecting gravitational waves with light
Markus Pössel
All objects and some questions
Charles H. Lineweaver, Vihan M. Patel
Online “Advanced Labs” in physics
Peter A. Bennett
Quantum solutions for the delta ring and delta shell
Luis F. Castillo-Sánchez, Julio C. Gutiérrez-Vega
Related Content
Teaching the First Law of Thermodynamics via Real‐Life Examples
Phys. Teach. (April 2011)
Concern about employability and the subfield choices of today’s graduate students
AIP Conf. Proc. (March 1978)
Student understanding of the ideal gas law, Part I: A macroscopic perspective
Am. J. Phys. (November 2005)
Entropy and spontaneity in an introductory physics course for life science students
Am. J. Phys. (May 2014)
Student Understanding Of The Physics And Mathematics Of Process Variables In P‐V Diagrams
AIP Conf. Proc. (November 2007)