Thermodynamics Exam Review - LearnChemE - Educational Resources for Engineering Courses

Thermodynamics Exam Review

Study Help

How to Study: Part 1 - suggestions on how to study based on the psychology literature on learning: part 1 discusses practice testing.
How to Study: Part 2 - suggestions on how to study based on the psychology literature on learning: part 2 discusses distributed practice and interleaved practice.
How to Study: Part 3 - suggestions on how to study based on the psychology literature on learning: part 3 discusses additional approaches to studying to improve retention, and what approaches to avoid.
How to Study using Screencasts - suggestions on how to study using screencasts based on the psychology literature on learning.
How to Study and Take Exams - PDF discussing study techniques

First Midterm

Intro Screencasts

Carnot Cycle: Reversible and Irreversible - compares the work output from reversible and irreversible Carnot cycles.
Entropy Change for Irreversible Pathway - calculates entropy change for an irreversible pathway.
Entropy Change/Multiple Steps - evaluates the entropy change for a gas.
Exact Differential Expansion Rule - uses the expansion rule to determine if an equation is correct.
Fugacities from Peng-Robinson EOS Spreadsheet - determines the state of a binary system given fugacities.
Gibbs Pressure Dependence - describes how Gibbs free energy changes with pressure.
Heating a Non-Ideal Gas in Two Different Systems - compares the temperature of a fixed volume container with the temperature of a piston-cylinder when heat is added.
Internal Energy/Volume Diagram - compares reversible and irreversible adiabatic expansion on an internal energy/volume diagram.
Reversible vs. Irreversible Compression - compares reversible and irreversible compression for a closed system.
Single-Component VLE A - cescribes how a single-component, two phase system changes when the volume decreases isothermally.
Work and Efficiency in Turbines - compares the work of turbines with the same exit conditions but different efficiencies.

Example Screencasts

Adiabatic Compressor - solves a problem on the adiabatic compression of a gas.
First Law Applied to Gas Expansion - determines the temperature change when air leaks from a cylinder into a room.
Irreversible Carnot Engine - calculates entropy change for Carnot cycle.
Irreversible Process Entropy Change - calculates the entropy change for water in an irreversible process using steam tables.
Refrigeration Compressor Efficiency - calculates the compressor efficiency for a refrigeration cycle.
Steam Tables: Compressed Liquid - describes what happens when a drum filled with water at VLE is sealed and heated.

Second Midterm

Intro Screencasts

Partial Pressure above Immiscible Liquids - plots partial pressure of one component vs total pressure for two immiscible liquids.
Bubble Pressure Plot for Binary Mixture - plots bubble pressure vs liquid mole fraction for a binary mixture with attractive interactions.
Chemical Potential of an Evaporating Solution - plots how chemical potential of a NaCl solution changes with time as it is heated.
Compression of a VLE System - explains how the quality of heptane changes as it's compressed isothermally.
Fugacity: Two Component System - plots fugacity vs time when CH4 is added to a fixed volume box containing CO2.
Helmholtz Free Energy: Ideal Liquid Solution - plots Helmholtz free energy vs mole fraction for a binary, ideal liquid solution.
Isotherms on PV Diagram - plots pressure vs volume for two components with different critical temperatures.
Phase Change: Critical Temperature - evaluates possibility of a phase change for C2H6 above it's critical temperature.
Phase Equilibrium for Binary Mixture - describes what happens when a component with negligible vapor pressure is added to water at VLE.
Three-Phase Equilibrium/Binary Mixture - explains what happens as a SLV system with two components approaches equilibrium and why.
Two Component System at VLE - describes what happens when H2O is added to a piston-cylinder system at VLE.

Example Screencasts

Txy Diagram: Lever Rule - determines temperature and composition when a liquid is partially evaporated using a Txy diagram.
Flash Calculation: Binary Mixture - calculates the vapor composition for a binary liquid that is flashed.
Chemical Potential from VLE - determines chemical potential for one component in a binary mixture at VLE using Raoult's law.
Fugacity of an Ideal Gas - estimates the fugacity of oxygen when air is bubbled through water at atmospheric pressure.
Fugacity of High-Pressure Liquid - calculates the fugacity of liquid water at high pressure using the Poynting correction.
VLE using Fugacity Coefficients - calculates VLE for a binary system using fugacity coefficients.

Final Exam

Intro Screencasts

Immiscible Liquids Phase Equilibrium - plots partial pressures v temperature for binary immiscible liquids.
Binary VLE Change: Decrease Volume - describes how a binary mixture at VLE changes when its volume is halved.
Enthalpy Change with Pressure for an Ideal Gas at Constant Entropy - uses thermodynamic equations to explain why enthalpy of an ideal gas is independent of pressure.
Enthalpy Pressure Dependence for a Non-Ideal Gas - determines how enthalpy changes with pressure at constant temperature given an EOS for a non-ideal gas.
First Law and State Function - applies the 1st law to two processes between the same initial and final states.
First Law/Irreversible Expansion - applies the 1st law to an irreversible expansion in a piston/cylinder system.
Fugacity for Non-Ideal Solutions - plots fugacity vs mole fraction for non-ideal mixtures.
Fugacity from Pxy Diagram - determines which component has the higher fugacity in a binary liquid mixture using a Pxy diagram.
Intermolecular Interactions Energy Diagram - estimates relative values for energy vs intermolecular distance diagram using a Pxy diagram.
Reaction in an Adiabatic Throttle - compares the enthalpy of the feed and exit streams for a throttle in which a reaction takes place.
Single-Component VLE B - compares the equilibrium pressure when 1 L liquid is added to evacuated 5 and 10 L containers.
Solid/Liquid Phase Equilibrium - uses fugacity to determine equilibrium conditions when ethanol is added to an ice/water mixture.

Example Screencasts

VLE/Margules Equation for Non-Ideal Liquids - determines composition of a vapor in equilibrium with a non-ideal liquid using the single-component Margules equation.
VLE for Partially Miscible Liquids - describes the phase changes when partially miscible liquids are heated in a closed system.
Chemical Equilibrium: Standard State Gibbs Free Energy - calculates the standard state Gibbs free energy change given equilibrium data for a heterogeneous reaction.
Departure Entropy - calculates the departure entropy for a real gas.
Determine Fugacity from EOS - Calculates the fugacity from the EOS for a non-ideal gas.
Entropy Change with Temperature - calculates the entropy change for an ideal gas and the reservoir that is used to heat the gas.
Equilibrium Constant from Free Energy and Heats of Formation - calculates the equilibrium constant using the Gibbs free energy of formation and heats of formation.
Equilibrium Constant from VLE Data - calculates the equilibrium constant for a liquid-phase reaction when VLE is also present.
Minimum Work for an Adiabatic Compressor - determines the minimum work needed to compress steam.
Azeotrope in Binary Mixture - uses equilibrium data at one composition for a binary mixture to determine if the system has an azeotrope.