Student handout: Name the experiment (changing entropy)

Energy and Entropy 2020
Students are placed into small groups and asked to create an experimental setup they can use to measure the partial derivative they are given, in which entropy changes.
What students learn
  • Partial derivatives
  • Physical representation
  • Thermodynamic variables
  • Practicing changing certain variables while holding others constant
  • Measurement and control of entropy

Your group will be given one of the following partial derivatives: \begin{align} a)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {S}}{\partial {T}}\right)_{V}\quad b)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {T}}{\partial {S}}\right)_{p}\quad c)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {S}}{\partial {V}}\right)_{T}\quad d)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {p}}{\partial {S}}\right)_{V}\quad e)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {S}}{\partial {p}}\right)_{T}\\ f)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {p}}{\partial {S}}\right)_{T}\quad g)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {T}}{\partial {S}}\right)_{V}\quad h)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {V}}{\partial {S}}\right)_{T}\quad i)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {V}}{\partial {S}}\right)_{p}\quad j)\quad\left(\frac{\partial {S}}{\partial {T}}\right)_{p} \end{align} In your group, design an experiment to measure this derivative. Draw a sketch of the apparatus and describe how to convert directly measured data into a numerical value for the derivative.

If you finish with your derivative, you can try designing an experiment for the next derivative in the list.


Keywords
thermodynamics entropy experiment derivative first law
Learning Outcomes