Need advice about a thermodynamics class

[Sentience]

How do I go about getting a good grade in thermo? I'm a chemical engineering major and I am scared ****less about this class. I am taking it this fall. I've heard horror stories, and my cousin, who I consider to be a pretty sharp guy is having a really hard time with it. Any textbooks you recommend?

Should I work ahead of the teacher before the semester starts?

Part 2:

How do I get immersed in my homework like I used to? I think I might have ADD. I know that I used to be able to put in some music and get really immersed in my math studies. To the point where I lose track of time. Any study tips?

 

[edgepflow]

Thermodynamics is tough to learn the first time, but if you can learn it, you will benefit all your career.

My advice is: work as many problems as you can until you have masterd the ideas. If you get stuck, get help from the professor or TA. If you show some interest, you would be surprised how much the professor and TA may help you.

 

[Thermalne]

I just recently took Thermodynamics (Spring 2011). I had what is hailed as the hardest professor in the university teaching it. I made a pretty good grade and here's what I did.

I read all the assigned chapters and took notes before he lectured on it. I went over the homework a few times to make sure I understood it. I studied the terms (Such as control volume, steady state, etc) and made sure to read the examples in the text.

Ask for help! Get a study group together and go through problems! Teaching the material to others will help you get a better understanding of it yourself!

 

[lsaldana]

Thermodynamics was surprisingly hard though I ended up appreciating highly after I was done. It definitely required a high level of commitment, homework sets were huge and required not only computation but lots of discussion. I took thermo from the physics department however, so I figure it was more theoretical than an engineering course but from what I hear that one can be just a tough. I would say, pre-read before attending lectures and do lots and lots of exercises. In this class more than others, I found myself reading and working problems the most. I actually found it tougher than stat mech. The book we used, and which I came to appreciate, was Gerald Carrington's "Basic Thermodynamics"; truly a beautiful book with a high level of abstraction and theory towards the end. I would recommend this book because the author spends 1/3rd of it introducing all thermodynamic ideas with just the ideal gas (simplest of all) and so makes it easier to grasp concepts when they are generalized later in the book. Written for a rising physicist but could greatly alter and enhance your learning experience with thermo in my opinion.

 

[Geezer]

I must be the weirdo in the bunch--wow! how often can you say that in a room full of physicists?--because I loved thermo. Well, I take that back. I didn't have much opinion of freshman year thermo, but when I took the intro stat mech and thermo course my junior year, I was smitten. Now I'm pursuing condensed matter physics.

Sentience, perhaps looking into thermo from a statistical mechanical point of view will change your mind? It worked for me. We used Kittel's book. The first couple chapters of Kittel's book, along with the preface/foreword, are quite good, and nice little eye-opener to the statistical mechanical underpinnings of thermodynamics.

 

[lsaldana]

I must be the weirdo in the bunch--wow! how often can you say that in a room full of physicists?--because I loved thermo. Well, I take that back. I didn't have much opinion of freshman year thermo, but when I took the intro stat mech and thermo course my junior year, I was smitten. Now I'm pursuing condensed matter physics.

Sentience, perhaps looking into thermo from a statistical mechanical point of view will change your mind? It worked for me. We used Kittel's book. The first couple chapters of Kittel's book, along with the preface/foreword, are quite good, and nice little eye-opener to the statistical mechanical underpinnings of thermodynamics.

Don't get me wrong, thermo is enjoyable and so is stat mech. Even though I found stat mech easier, it was more eye-opening to say the least so I would also recommend to look into it; Kittel's book is quite nice. Learning stat mech after thermo gives you closure in the sense that it can teach you how to build macroscopic equations and ideas, like the ones you'll see in thermo, via first principles. Gives you peace of mind when you can derive PV=nRT using quantum mechanics and stat mech.

 

[osnarf]

I'm liking thermo a lot actually (taking it right now). Really, you should probably like it too because most of what we've done so far is similar to chem 1 stuff (with the exception of fluid flows but the level that it's at in the general thermodynamics course isn't really that tough), with a little bit of physics 1 (work-energy). I don't know what the rest of the course holds in store but you should at least like the basics.

EDIT: I think the similarity to chemistry is why most engineers hate the class.

 

[Sentience]

It DOES sound interesting, I just want to succeed in it.

 

[nobelium102]

for the second part of question, i think you should get a study friend who can compete with you