What you absolutely have to know about

Thermodynamics to pass the AP Physic B test!

Why Heat flows from Hot to Cold, Entropy, and the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Molecules are in constant random motion. On average hot objects have faster
moving molecules than cold objects. As you can see in the graph at the right, it is
possible for some of the cold molecules to be moving faster than the hot
molecules. However, on average, the hot molecules are moving faster.
Why does heat always move from hot to cold?
Molecules in a hot object tend to collide and transfer more energy to the molecules in a
cold object because they are moving faster. (Conservation of Momentum.)
Is it possible for a cold molecule to collide and transfer energy to the hot molecule?
Sure! But on average it is much more likely for energy to transfer from hot to cold.
Just like it is much more likely for a speeding car to transfer energy to a slow
moving car in a collision than the other way around. For net heat to transfer from
a cold object to a hot object most of the cold molecules would have to transfer
energy to the hot molecules. While this might be theoretically possible in the
magic would of physics, it is statistically and practically impossible.
When does the heat transfer between objects stop?
In reality the heat transfer between objects never really stops. Hot objects transfer lots of
heat to cold objects. But remember that cold objects have a few fast moving molecules
that can transfer heat to the hot object. Overall, the net heat transfer is from hot to cold.
(See the diagrams to the right.) Once the two objects reach the same temperature, the
average molecular motion is the same for both. So, they transfer heat back and forth
between each other at equal rates. When two objects have the same temperature they are
in Thermal Equilibrium and the net heat transfer between them is zero.
What is Entropy?
Entropy is a measure of disorder. Objects that are colder have less entropy because they have less random
motion in their molecules. Hot objects have higher entropy. When a hot high entropy object is placed next to a
cold low entropy object heat is exchanged. The hot object looses entropy and the cold object gains entropy.
Q
The equation for change in entropy is: Entropy . Calculating the entropy lost by the hot object and gained
T
by the cold object, you will find that the overall entropy of the system has actually gone up! The disorder of the
system as a whole has increased because the hot area is no longer separated from the cold area. The thermal
energy has been mixed up into an overall disorderly warm. Remember for the AP Exam: When heat flows
into a system entropy increases and when heat flows out of a system entropy decreases.
The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics is a statement that tells us the direction energy will move:
The entropy of an isolated system either remains the same or increases until equilibrium is achieved.
Here are two of the important consequences of the 2nd Law:
1) Net heat always moves from hot to cold until thermal equilibrium is achieved.
2) Kinetic and potential energies are ordered forms of energy. They can spontaneously and completely be
converted into random thermal energy. Thermal energy wont spontaneously convert into other forms of
energy. In fact, it is impossible to completely convert thermal energy into other forms of energy.
Chris Bruhn
cbruhn@dallasisd.org
(972) 749-2314

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10/9/2015

What you absolutely have to know about

Thermodynamics to pass the AP Physic B test!
So what the heck to do we use all this stuff for? The Heat Engine
Heat naturally moves from hot places to cold places. As the hot place cools off and the cold place warms up the
heat transfer slows. When the two locations finally reach the same temperature the heat transfer stops.
This process is represented below in an Energy-Transfer Diagram.
Notice something very important: The heat flow out of the hot place = the heat flow into the cold place!

What we want to do is steal or siphon off some of this

energy as it moves from the hot place to the cold place.
This stolen energy can be used to do useful work like
generating electricity or moving our car down the street.
The problem is that we can only siphon off energy while
heat is being transferred. Once the hot place cools off the
heat flow stops and we cant steal any more energy.
We solve this problem by either finding or making an energy reservoir. An energy reservoir is an object or part
of the environment that is so big that its temperature and thermal energy dont change very much when heat
flows into or out of it. For instance:
1. When you jump into a pool to cool off you dont change the temp of the pool very much because it is so big.
The pool is an example of a Cold Reservoir. Cold reservoirs absorb heat without increasing in temperature.
2. If you place your hand in a fire, your hand will heat up. However, the fire does not cool down very much
because it has a fuel source to burn that keeps it hot. The flame is a Hot Reservoir. A hot reservoir gives off
heat without loosing its hot temperature.
Here is an example: Build a fire (hot reservoir). As the heat
(Q) from the fire naturally flows to the atmosphere (cold
reservoir) you steal some of the energy as use it to do work.
As long as you have fuel to keep the fire hot, you can
siphon off energy.
The device that is used to siphon off the energy is called a
Heat Engine. The energy-transfer diagram of a heat engine
is shown at the right. The Heat that flow out of the hot
place is labeled QH . The Heat that flows into the cold place
is labeled QC . The energy that is siphoned off to do useful
work is labeled W .
Chris Bruhn
cbruhn@dallasisd.org
(972) 749-2314

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10/9/2015

What you absolutely have to know about

Thermodynamics to pass the AP Physic B test!
Notice several things about a Heat Engine. The heat that exits the hot place QH is no
longer equal to the heat entering the cold place QC .
Conservation of Energy tell us that the work stolen from the system must be
W QH QC or QH W QC .
Look at the energy-transfer diagram at the right. If 100J of heat energy leaves the hot
place and we steal 40J of it to run a machine only 60J of heat energy is let to flow into
the cold place.
Heat Engine Efficiency:
The more heat we siphon off the more efficient our heat engine is. The efficiency of our heat engine is equal to
W QH QC

the work we can get it to do divided by how much available heat we had to steal from: e
QH
QH
At this point some of you are thinking Why dont we just turn all of the heat ( QH ) into work ( W ) and
produce a heat engine with 100% efficiency? This is indeed a great idea but unfortunately, it can not be done
because it violates the 2nd Law of Thermo by turning disordered thermal energy completely into ordered work.
There is always wasted thermal energy in a heat engine. Efficiency ( e ) is always less than 1 or 100%.
What does a Heat Engine look like on a pV diagram?
On a pV diagram, a heat engine will be a cycle that moves in a clockwise direction. Here is an example:

Chris Bruhn
cbruhn@dallasisd.org
(972) 749-2314

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What you absolutely have to know about

Thermodynamics to pass the AP Physic B test!

Continued on the next page!

How does all this relate to our heat engine? First of all, remember our energy-transfer
diagram for a heat engine shown to the right. Remember that is shows heat QH
flowing in from a hot place and them work W being siphoned off and the rest of the
heat QC moving away to a cold place.
Now lets look at our pV diagram again and the data table we just calculated:

Where is the heat flowing into the cycle on the pV diagram? In other words, where is QH ? It is QAB 12483 J .
Where is the heat flowing out of the cycle? Where is QC ? It is the combination of QBC QCA 11233 J .
Chris Bruhn
cbruhn@dallasisd.org
(972) 749-2314

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10/9/2015

What you absolutely have to know about

Thermodynamics to pass the AP Physic B test!

How much work is siphoned off in the cycle? It is the net work of the cycle: Wcycle WAB WBC WCA 1250 J
Remember that for a heat engine: W QH QC and this is true: 1250 J 12483 J 11233 J
W QH QC
1250 J

0.1 10%
What is the efficiency of this heat engine? e
QH
QH
12, 483 J
An energy-transfer diagram shows only the net energy flow for a heat engine in a very general picture.
A pV diagram shows all the details of what is going on inside the gas as the heat engine is operating.
Both diagrams show the same heat engine in a different format.

A heat engine takes advantage of the natural flow of heat from hot to cold and uses it to produce useful work.

Chris Bruhn
cbruhn@dallasisd.org
(972) 749-2314

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