why the explosion causes a decrease in temperature, they tend

to adopt the ideal-gas law (PV = nRT), and claim that decreas-
ing pressure leads to a drop in temperature. The reasoning is
not sound because the third variable, volume (V), increases
significantly.
5
Therefore, PV = nRT is insufficient to explain
the cooling effect of the sudden explosion.
After illustrating the ineffectiveness of PV = nRT, the first
law (Q+W = U) is introduced along with a review of the
concept of work defined in mechanics. The sudden explosion
can be regarded as an adiabatic process. During the explosion,
work is done by the gas on the atmosphere. From the first
law (Q+W = U), the work done by gas causes a decrease of
internal energy. Then, combining the first law and the kinetic
theory, U = E
k
~ T, where E
k
is the total kinetic energy
of the gas and T is temperature change. Thus, decreasing
internal energy results in a drop in temperature, which is illus-
trated by the condensation. The demonstration and in-class
dialogue take about 10 minutes to complete.
Since the notion that work results in change of internal
energy in the first law is not intuitive, more examples are
needed for students to practice. After two to three hours of
instructing on the definition of the first law and solving sev-
eral problems, a worksheet containing five real-life questions
is distributed and group discussion is undertaken. Two are
described below.
Air conditioning for aircraft cabins
Question: Jet aircraft fly at altitudes above
30,000 ft, where the air is very cold. However,
when exchanging the air outside with that inside
the cabin, why is air conditioning used, rather
than heaters, to obtain a comfortable cabin
temperature? (Hint: Think about the outside air
pressure at high altitude compared with that of
the cabin.)
Answer: Since the outside pressure at high altitude is far
lower than that in the cabin, the outside air needs to be
quickly (adiabatically) compressed before being delivered
into the cabin. From the first law (Q+W = U), work is
done on the air owing to the sudden compressing process;
thus, the internal energy of the air increases, and the tem-
perature rises dramatically.
Despite having considered related examples, most students
still had difficulty with this example and needed a hint to see
the answer.
Teaching the First Law of
Thermodynamics via Real-Life
Examples
Wheijen Chang, Feng-Chia University, Taiwan
T
he literature has revealed that many students encoun-
ter substantial difficulties in applying the first law of
thermodynamics. For example, university students
sometimes fail to recognize that heat and work are indepen-
dent means of energy transfer.
1
When discussing adiabatic
processes for an ideal gas, few students can correctly refer
to the concept of work to justify a change in temperature.
1

Some students adopt the notion that collisions between
molecules produce heat to explain the rise in temperature
for an adiabatic compression process.
2
When explaining pro-
cesses entailing temperature variation, students tend to adopt
the ideal-gas law.
1,2
Although most university students have
acquired a reasonable grasp of the state-function concept,
which is valid for variation of internal energy, they fail to
grasp the concept that work depends not only on the states
but also the processes. Thus, they are unable to use the first
law effectively.
3
In order to help students comprehend the
meaning, usages, and value of the first law, and to realize that
the ideal-gas law itself is insufficient to analyze many real-
life examples, this paper introduces four examples, some of
which can be demonstrated in the classroom. The examples
have been devised and gradually modified over a period of
several years based on implementation in a calculus-based
introductory physics course. Details of when, how, and why
each example is adopted, along with the students pitfalls, are
described below.
Exploding bottle
The first demonstration is introduced after completing
the topics of the ideal-gas law and kinetic theory. It provides
a bridge from the ideal-gas law to the first law (Q+W=U),
where Q is the heat absorbed by gas systems,W is the work
done on the gas, and U is the change of internal energy of
the system.
A bottle is damped with a small amount of water, sealed,
compressed with air [Fig. 1(a)], then suddenly opened, caus-
ing an explosion. As shown in Fig. 1(b), a white cloud ap-
pears, indicating the condensation of water vapor, implying a
drop in temperature.
4
When the students are asked to explain
Fig. 1. (a) Exploding bottle. (b) condensation of exploding bottle.
a) b)
DOI: 10.1119/1.3566034 THE PHYSICS TEACHER Vol. 49, APRIL 2011 231
C, where is C
p
/C
v
). The surprise of igniting a fire using
your bare hands may stimulate students interest, retain their
attention, and render the abstract symbols sensible.
Solving problems
In order to encourage students to review these examples af-
ter class, conceptual questions such as those posed above can
be devised as manipulating problems. For example,
Problem 1: Recalling the fire syringe demon-
stration, assume that the room temperature and
air pressure are 20
o
C, 1.00 atm. The ignition
point of the tissue is 630 K.
6
The inner diameter
of the cylinder is 0.800 cm, and the original
height of the piston is 11.0 cm. Regard the air as
being composed of O
2
and N
2
only ( =
C
p
/C
v
=1.40). Evaluate (a) the number of moles
of gas in the system, (b) the work done on the
gas to ignite the tissue, (c) the compression ratio
(V
i
/V
f
), (d) the final pressure, and (e) the force
required for igniting the tissue.
Answers: (a) n = 2.2910
-4
mole
(b) W=U = E
k
=
5
2
nR T =1.60 J
(c) TV
-1
= C, V
i
/V
f
= 6.78
(d) PV

= C, P
f
=14.6 atm
(e) (P
f
P
air
)A = 69.0 N.
Problem 2: Assuming that a jet plane flies at a
high altitude, where T = 40.0
o
C and P =
0.280 atm, evaluate (a) the final temperature,
(b) the compression ratio (V
i
/V
f
), when quickly
compressing the air to P =1.00 atm.
7
Answer: (a) TV
1
= C, T
f
= 335 K = 62
o
C
(too hot to survive!)
(b) 2.48
These two problems are context rich and integrate several
principles, i.e., the first law, ideal-gas law, kinetic theory, and
adiabatic state functions.
Conclusions
Despite its simple mathematical form, the first law is not
easy for students to comprehend. By analyzing ample real-
life conceptual questions, students may gradually appreciate
the crucial role of the first law in thermodynamics and grasp
its key concepts, particularly the notion that work can alter
internal energy of a gas system, as suggested by Meltzer.
3

Through the use of such examples, the basic physics principle
can become sensible, relevant, and meaningful to students
Hair spray
Question: When the compressed liquid in a can
of hair spray is released as a mist (Fig. 2), why
would the container cool down? In what ways are
the explanation of this phenomenon similar to
and different from the exploding bottle?
Answer: Similar to the exploding bottle, this demonstration
is an adiabatic expansion process. Using the first law we see
that since work is done by the hair spray in the expansion
process, the internal energy of the spray decreases. However,
the hair spray involves the heat of vaporization exaggerating
the cooling effect. This is only a minor factor in the explod-
ing bottle. Therefore, this demonstration involves both the
first law and the concept of latent heat.
After some additional discussion and practice, the last
demonstration is done and in-class dialogue is undertaken.
Fire syringe
A fire syringe is an appealing
demonstration to further reinforce
the concept of the first law. Put a
small piece of tissue into the cyl-
inder, press the piston forcefully,
and the temperature can be raised
dramatically to ignite the tissue,
as shown in Fig. 3. The process is
quick enough to be treated as an
adiabatic process (Q= 0). Work is
done on the system via the com-
pression. Thus, based on the first law, the internal energy in-
creases and the temperature rises.
When hearing this demonstration explained, a few stu-
dents are found to attribute the burning to the heat caused by
the friction of the piston. This response indicates that when
explaining the temperature variation, these students continue
to seek sources of thermal energy rather than work, consistent
with the collision model found by Rozier and Viennot.
2

Although the first law is defined, and many examples and
problems have been practiced, the notion of work may still
be overlooked by some students. Thus, providing abundant
real-life examples to highlight this counterintuitive concept is
helpful.
In addition to enhancing the concept of the first law, this
demonstration can also serve as an appetizer to initiate the
derivation of adiabatic state-functions (e.g., PV

= C, TV
-1
=
Fig. 2. Hair spray.
Fig. 3. Fire syringe.
232 THE PHYSICS TEACHER Vol. 49, APRIL 2011
daily lives. We emphasize that real-life examples or demon-
strations should not only perform the role of entertainment,
but provoke thinking and discussion.
8,9
Acknowledgment
This paper was supported by the National Science Council
Grant NSC-97-2511-5-035-001-MY3.
References
1. M. E. Loverude, C. H. Kautz, and P. R. L. Heron, Student un-
derstanding of the first law of thermodynamics: Relating work
to the adiabatic compression of an ideal gas, Am. J. Phys. 70(2),
137148 (2002).
2. S. Rozier and L. Viennot, Students reasoning in thermody-
namics, Int. J. Sci. Educ. 13, 159170 (1991).
3 D. E. Meltzer, Investigation of students reasoning regarding
heat, work, and the first law of thermodynamics in an introduc-
tory calculus-based general physics course, Am. J. Phys. 72,
14321446 (2004).
4. Some students might regard white smoke as an indication of
heating, i.e., smoke due to heating. Thus, instructors need to
explicitly link the smoke (cloud) to cooling.
5. The authors finding is consistent with Loverude et al.s (see Ref.
1) and Rozier and Viennots (see Ref. 2) studies.
6. C. H. Haynm and S. C. Baird, Adiabatic compression in a fire
syringe, Phys. Teach. 23, 101102 (1985).
7. The problem was adopted in the 2008 final examination, with-
out prior instruction. Among the 113 first-year engineering
students taught by the author, the percentages of correct re-
sponses in each sub-question were: (a) 38%, (b) 42%, of which
11% misused V ~ 1/ P (isothermal process) in (b).
8. M. C. Buncick, P. G. Betts, and D. D. Horgan, Using demon-
strations as a contextual road map: Enhancing course continu-
ity and promoting active engagement in introductory college
physics, Int. J. Sci. Educ. 23(12), 12371255 (2001).
9. C. Crouch, A. P. Fagen, J. P. Callan, and E. Mazur, Classroom
demonstrations: Learning tools or entertainment? Am. J. Phys.
72, 835838 (2004).
Wheijen Chang is a professor at Feng-Chia University in Taiwan. She
has taught introductory physics since receiving an MS from Ohio State
University in 1984. Since obtaining a PhD in 2000 in science education
from Waikato University, New Zealand, she has conducted research on
improving teaching and learning of introductory physics.
wjnchang@gmail.com
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