WEEKLY LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEETS

General Physics 1 – STEM 12, Quarter 2, Week 8

2ND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS AND ENTROPY

Name: ___________________________________________ Section: ____________________

Learning Objectives/MELCs:

 Calculate the efficiency of a heat engine. (STEM_GP12GLT-IIi-67)

 Describe reversible and irreversible processes. (STEM_GP12GLT-Iii-68)
 Explain how entropy is a measure of disorder. (STEM_GP12GLT-Iii-69)
 State the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. (STEM_GP12GLT-Iii-70)
 Calculate entropy changes for various processes eg., isothermal process, free
expansion, constant pressure process, etc. (STEM_GP12GLT-Iii-71)

Specific Objectives:

After the lesson, the students will be able to:

1. explain heat engines, thermal efficiency, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, and entropy.
2. solve problems related to heat engines, efficiency and entropy.
3. appreciate the concepts learned by relating it to practical applications.

Time allotment: 3 hours

Key Concepts

 2nd Law of Thermodynamics is a statement that determines which processes occur in

nature and which do not. It can be stated in a variety of ways, all of which are equivalent.
One statement is that, “Heat can flow spontaneously from a hot object to a cold object; heat
will not flow spontaneously from a cold object to a hot object.” Alternatively, it can be stated
as, “It is impossible to undergo a process in which a system absorbs heat from a reservoir at
a single temperature and converts the heat completely into mechanical work, with the system
ending in the same state in which it began.”

 Irreversible process – a process that occurs naturally in one direction. The heat flows
spontaneously from a hot object to a cold object. No irreversible process has ever been
observed to run backward – if it were to do so, it would violate the second law of
thermodynamics.

 Reversible process – is an idealized process in which the situation is very close to being in
the thermodynamic equilibrium within itself and with its surroundings. Any change of state
that takes place can then be reversed by making only an infinitesimal change in the
conditions of the system.

Author: Christopher Christian S. Braza

School/Station: Carrascal National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: christopher.braza@deped.gov.ph
  Heat engine – any device that changes thermal energy into
mechanical work, such as steam engines and automobile engines.
The basic idea behind any heat engine is that mechanical energy can
be obtained from thermal energy only when heat is allowed to flow
from a high temperature to a low temperature. In the process, some
of the heat can be transformed to mechanical work, as diagrammed
schematically in Figure 1. In each cycle, the change in internal
energy of the system is ΔU = 0 because it returns to the starting state.
Thus, a heat input (QH) at a high temperature (TH) is partly
transformed into work (W) and partly exhausted as heat (QL) at a Figure 1. Energy Transfer
lower temperature (TL). By conservation of energy, QH = W + QL. in Heat Engine

 Efficiency (e) of any heat engine can be defined as the ratio of the work it does, W, to the
heat input at the high temperature, Q H. In equation,
𝑊
𝑒=
𝑄𝐻

Alternatively, since energy is conserved, the heat input Q H must equal the work done plus
the heat that flows out the lower temperature QL. In equation,
𝑄𝐻 = 𝑊 + 𝑄𝐿
𝑊 = 𝑄𝐻 − 𝑄𝐿
and the efficiency of an engine is

𝑊 𝑄𝐻 − 𝑄𝐿 𝑄𝐿
𝑒= = = 1−
𝑄𝐻 𝑄𝐻 𝑄𝐻

 Entropy - In a natural process, high-quality energy tends to transform into lower-quality

energy – order tends toward disorder. The idea of lowering the “quality” of energy is
embodied in the idea of entropy. Entropy was first introduced by Clausius in the 1860s.
Entropy, unlike heat, is a function of the state system. That is, a system in a given state
has a temperature, a volume, a pressure, and so on, and also has a particular value of
entropy. When we deal with entropy – as with potential energy – it is a change in entropy
during a process that is important, not the absolute amount. According to Clausius, the
change in entropy (ΔS) of a system, when an amount of heat (Q) is added to it by a reversible
process at constant temperature, is given by the equation:
𝛥𝑄
ΔS =
𝑇
where T is the Kelvin temperature. All irreversible processes involve an increase in entropy.
The entropy of the system is negative when heat is taken away from the system and positive
when heat is added.

Sample Problem: What is the change in entropy of 250 g of steam at 100 oC when it is
condensed to water at 100 oC?

Solution: Heat energy is taken away from the water, so the change in entropy will be
negative. The heat transfer is the mass of the steam times the latent heat of vaporization
(Lv = 22.6 x 105 J/kg).

22.6𝑥105 𝐽
𝛥𝑄 𝑚𝐿𝑣 (0.25 𝑘𝑔) ( )
𝑘𝑔
ΔS = = − = − = −1.5 𝑥 103 𝐽/𝐾
𝑇 𝑇 (273 + 100)𝐾

 Disorder - The entropy of the system can be considered as the measure of disorder of the
system. “Natural processes tend to move toward a state of greater disorder”. For example,

Author: Christopher Christian S. Braza

School/Station: Carrascal National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: christopher.braza@deped.gov.ph
 when a hot object is put in contact with a cold object, heat flows from the high temperature
to the low temperature until the two objects reach the same intermediate temperature. At
the beginning of the process, one can distinguish two classes of molecules: those with a
high average kinetic energy (the hot object), and those with a low kinetic energy (the cooler
object). After the process in which heat flows, all the molecules are in one class with the
same kinetic energy; no longer have the more orderly arrangement of molecules in two
classes. Order has gone to disorder.

Activity No. 1 – Heat Engines and Efficiency

What you need: Scientific Calculator

What to do: Read the situation below and answer the guide questions that follow. Write
your answers on separate sheet of paper.

A gasoline truck engine takes in 10,000 J of heat and delivers 2,000 J of mechanical work
per cycle. Below is a sketch of the problem.

Figure 2. Energy Transfer in Gasoline Truck Engine

Guide Questions
1. How much heat is discarded in each cycle?
2. What is the thermal efficiency of this engine?
3. Is the process reversible? Explain.
4. Describe the entropy as heat flows in the system.
5. What other machines utilize the concept of heat engine in its operation? Give at least 3
examples.

Activity No. 2 – Problem Solving Related to Heat Engine, Efficiency and Entropy

What to do 1: Solve the following problems on heat engine and efficiency. Show your
solutions and box your final answers. Write them on a separate sheet of paper.

1. A heat engine exhausts 8,200 J heat while performing 3,200 J of work. What is the
efficiency of this engine?
2. A heat engine does 9,200 J of work per cycle while absorbing 22.0 kcal of heat from a
high-temperature reservoir. What is the efficiency of this engine? (1 kcal = 4186 J)
3. A heat engine takes in 360 J of energy from a hot reservoir and performs 25.0 J of work
in each cycle. Find (a) the efficiency of the engine and (b) the energy expelled to the cold
reservoir in each cycle.

Author: Christopher Christian S. Braza

School/Station: Carrascal National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: christopher.braza@deped.gov.ph
 What to do 2: Solve the following problems on entropy. Show your solutions and box your
final answers. Write them on a separate sheet of paper. Remember to convert the temperature
in Celsius to Kelvin.

1. One kilogram of water is heated from 0 oC to 100 oC. Solve for the change in entropy of
the water.
2. What is the change in entropy of 1.00 m3 of water at 0 oC when it is frozen to ice at 0
oC?

Reflection

Give practical applications of the concepts that you have learned from the learning
activities. Write your 5-sentence answer in a separate sheet of paper.

RUBRICS
3 2 1 0
Practical application is Practical application is Practical application is No discussion.
scientifically explained scientifically explained explained consistent to
consistent to the consistent to the concepts, the concepts, but with
concepts, and has no but with minimal misconceptions.
misconceptions. misconceptions.

References:

GIancolli, Douglas. Physics Principles and Applications 6th Edition. New Jersey: Pearson
Education, Inc., 2005.

Serway, Raymond and John Jewett. Physics for Scientists and Engineers 6th Edition.
Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2004.

Young, H.D., R. A. Freedman and L. Ford. University Physics with Modern Physics 14th
Edition. USA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2016.

Author: Christopher Christian S. Braza

School/Station: Carrascal National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: christopher.braza@deped.gov.ph
Answer Key

Author: Christopher Christian S. Braza

School/Station: Carrascal National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: christopher.braza@deped.gov.ph