Conventional Entropies and the Third Law of Thermodynamics©
Theresa Julia Zielinski Department of Chemistry, Medical Technology, and Physics Monmouth University West Long Branch, NJ 07764-1898 United States mail to: tzielins@monmouth.edu
Todd M. Hamilton Department of Chemistry Georgetown College Georgetown, KY 40324 United States mail to: Todd_Hamilton@georgetowncollege.edu
Abstract
In this document, standard molar entropies for several substances are calculated using the Third Law of Thermodynamics and heat capacity data. Students learn a method for fitting a polynomial to the heat capacity values at different temperatures. They also explore the contributions of different phases to the total entropy of a substance by integrating the heat capacity within each phase and adding the individual entropy components together. This document can be used in the standard physical chemistry course, when discussing standard molar entropies and the Third Law of Thermodynamics.
Commentary
Editor's Commentary
Keywords
Audiences: Upper-Division Undergraduate Pedagogies: Computer-Based Learning Domains: Physical Chemistry Topics: Mathematics / Symbolic Mathematics, Thermodynamics
Documents
File Name Description Software Type Software Version fitting.pdf Curve Fitting with Polynomials Notes ThirdLaw.pdf Read-Only Document ThirdLaw.xmcd Computational Document. Requires Mathcad 13 or higher. Mathcad 13 ThirdLawEntropy.zip Archive of Data Files. JCE Subscribers only: name and password or institutional IP number access required.
Citations
Hamilton, T. M.; Zielinski, T. J. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1468
Comments to: Todd M. Hamilton at Todd_Hamilton@georgetowncollege.edu
©Copyright 2009 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society.