Discussion of the section on
thermal equilibrium Here are some things to do to finish this section.
Did you think of a question that could be studied, or make an observation
that was interesting or unexpected? You should send it to the Question
board!
You are asked as a group to send us a discussion of at least 2 of the following
questions. We encourage you to discuss them all, but we ask for an
email response to only two of them. Remember go to this
page for some general guidance on what we want you to include in your
discussions.
The wind certainly makes you feel cold. How does it affect
the thermometer reading? Consider
a thermometer in your room that is reading 22oC (72oF).
If you turn a small electric fan on and point it at the thermometer - or
even fan it vigorously with a piece of paper folded into a fan shape -
how will it affect the reading and why?
Discuss the respects in which you
differ from a thermometer that are relevant to your answer
(after all, you both have red noses!).
Here are some ways to deliver energy, and some estimates of what they cost.
Use this data to determine what 1,000,000 Joules cost, each way.
Think about and comment on why the cost
varies the way it does.
Item
Energy Content
Price
Cost for 1,000,000 J
Lift 1000 bricks 1 meter
10,000 J
$10.00 *
A pound of steak
5,000,000 J
$8.00
A ton of coal
22,000,000,000 J
$35.00
A barrel of oil
6,000,000,000 J
$18.00
1 Kilowatt-hour of electricity
3,600,000 J
$0.08
1 Therm of natural gas
105,500,000 J
$0.30
1 tsp sugar (15 Kilocalories)
63,000 J
$0.004 **
1 gallon gasoline
135,000,000 J
$1.899 ***
A flashlight battery (D cell)
10,000 J
$0.15
Energy doesn't change, but prices do! The numbers in the table were reasonable
values in the spring of 2001.
*Assuming the person lifting the bricks is being paid $10.00/hour.
**Assuming 453 teaspoonsful in a $1.89 bag of sugar.
***Including all sorts of taxes.
You might prefer to do this exercise using Excel. There is a worksheet
energy.xls
that has the numbers already entered for you. There also is a page on using
Excel
Room temperature inside your house is probably about 72oF.
Now consider other locations, such as on the porch, or
in the attic. What does "thermal equilibrium" mean in these other environments?
And how will an object taken from inside your house be affected when it
is moved into one of those other environments?
Please send
us your discussions of two of these questions. Don't forget to tell us
who is in the group.
In addition to sending your discussion
of the questions, please write something in your journal
about this question:
Have you been working in a group, solo, or both?
If you have been working in a group as well as
on your own, please comment on the differences between working on this CD course with a group
vs. working on it alone. What have been the benefits? Drawbacks?
If you have been working only in a group or only by yourself, please comment on the potential
benefit you might envision working in another arrangement with our materials.
If there is something that you don't understand about thermal equilibrium,
Ask
us!
This is the end of this section. (Check this box )
The next section is about thermal expansion.
Copyright
2002 J. P. Straley and S. A. Shafer