Kind of a shitty morning... about an inch of snow/ice mix all over everything, but I had to take the early train in b/c I have an exam this morning. And not only have I not really finished writing it (much less printing and copying it) but I need to allow for a couple of emergencies and delays... I can't take the risk of taking the Last Chance Train at 7:30.
So here I am. Me and my laptop and my fucking reading glasses, which I find myself wearing more and more lately. I think after xmas it's time for a trip to Lenscrafters for some fucking bifocals. Fuck. In class yesterday we were using the Pons and Fleishman "cold fusion" debacle as a case study for the reaction of the scientific community to violations of the peer review protocol (fascinating, right?) and I realized that the Pons and Fleishman "cold fusion" debacle happened basically TWENTY YEARS AGO. How is that possible? How can I have been in COLLEGE twenty years ago?? Fuck.
Anyway, I'm giving my first final today, which means I get to sit w/ my feet up on the desk while all the students write furiously (love that!) and write up my personal reflection on course the semester. (Preview: It sucked.)
Meanwhile, in another window, I'm trimming questions out of the final exam. Reason? I'm teaching 3 classes this semester, and I'm trying to cut down on the grading. If a 5-page rather than a 6-page final can contribute to that cause... I'm willing to sacrifice the comprehensive completeness of the final for that. Besides... I think it's still a pretty good exam. Interested?
1) Imagine the following scenario: You make hot cup of tea to help you stay up late and study for your physics final. The phone rings. You set your hot tea down to go answer the phone. You come back a half hour later to find your tea is now lukewarm. Explain what has just happened in terms of the caloric theory of heat.
2) Now take the same scenario above and explain what has just happened in terms of the kinetic theory of heat.
3) What observations and experiments by Count Rumford led him to reject the idea of ”caloric” ?
4) What is the difference between heat and temperature?
5) You can safely reach into a 400ºF oven and touch the top of a cake with your finger to test and see if it is “done”. But if your hand touches the rack, or the cake pan, you will be burned. Why is it safe to touch the 400º cake and the 400º air, but not the 400º metal?
6) State the First Law of Thermodynamics below...
7) State the “Zeroth” Law of Thermodynamics below. Why is this law necessary, and why is it numbered “0” instead of “1”?
8) State the Second Law of Thermodynamics in as many ways as you can. (In terms of entropy, in terms of engines, in terms of heat flow, etc...)
9) State the Third Law of Thermodynamics below…
10) Explain as best you can what physicists mean by the term “entropy”. What is the difference between a low entropy and a high entropy system?
11) Explain the meaning of the statement “Equilibrium = Death”.
12) Briefly describe the “Maxwell’s Demon” thought-experiment?. What point was James Clerk Maxwell trying to make with his scenario?
13) What are some of the practical and theoretical obstacles to achieving a temperature of "absolute zero"?
Now that I look at that, I'll probably re-word a couple of them, but... yeah, that's basically gonna be it. I kinda love writing exams. If only I didn't have to grade them.
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