An Investigation into Thermodynamics Expanded

In today’s session, we continued our investigation into thermodynamic principles. The first law of thermodynamics was explored more thoroughly than the previous week. We studied the equations that govern thermodynamic processes (Ideal Gas Law, Boyle’s Law, Charles’s Law) and demonstrated how pressure, volume, and temperature interact. In the demonstration, air in a small cup was energized (heated) and then sealed to a flat plate using butter to help create the seal. The air in the cup was allowed to cool to room temperature and hypothesis’ were made about what would happen when we lifted the cup. As the temperature in the cup decreases, so must the pressure. This creates a vacuum that was able to lift over 100 grams. We then used our measurements to calculate how much energy was transferred into the cup!