Physics Topic: Thermal Physics
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Show an understanding that internal energy is determined by the state of the system and can be expressed as the sum of a random distribution of kinetic and potential energies associated with the molecules of the system.
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Relate a rise in temperature of a body to an increase in its internal energy.
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Show an understanding that regions of equal temperature are in thermal equilibrium.
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Show an understanding that there is an absolute scale of temperature which does not depend on the property of any particular substance i.e. the thermodynamic scale.
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Apply the concept, on the thermodynamic (Kelvin scale), absolute zero is the temperature at which all substances have a minimum internal energy
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Convert temperatures measured in Kelvin to degrees Celsius: T/K = Theta/oC + 273.15.
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Define and use the concept of specific heat capacity, and identify the main principles of its determination by electrical methods.
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Define and use the concept of specific latent heat, and identify the main principles of its determination by electrical methods.
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Explain using a simple kinetic model for matter why:
- melting and boiling take place without a change in temperature,
- the specific latent heat of vaporisation is higher than specific latent heat of fusion for the same substance,
- cooling effect accompanies evaporation.
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Recall and use the first law of thermodynamics expressed in terms of the change in internal energy, the heating of the system and the work done on the system.
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Recall and use ideal gas equation pV = nRT where n is the amount of gas in moles
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Show an understanding of the significance of the Avogadro constant as the number of atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon-12.
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Use molar quantities where one mole of any substance is the amount containing a number of particles equal to the Avogadro constant.
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Recall and apply the relationship that the mean kinetic energy of a molecule of an ideal gas is proportional to the thermodynamic temperature to new situations or to solve related problems.