AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

Energy, Thermodynamics

energy - ability to do work or transfer heat  

  • force - any type of push/pull placed on an object
  • work - energy used to make an object move against a force
    • work = force x distance
  • heat - energy transferred from hotter object to colder one
  • kinetic energy - energy of motion
    • Ek = 1/2 mv2
    • thermal energy - from kinetic energy of molecules in a substance
  • potential energy - energy based on relative position
    • Ep = mhg, where g = 9.8 m/s2 (gravitational constant)
    • chemical energy - from potential energy in bonds
  • electrostatic energy - interactions w/ charged particles; form of potential energy
    • Eel = (kQ1Q2) / d
    • positive when 2 charges repel each other, negative when attracting each other
  • joule - SI unit for energy
  • calorie - amount of energy required to raise temperature of 1g of water by 1°
    • 1 calorie = 4.184 joules
    • 1 Cal = 1 nutritional calorie = 1000 calories = 1 kcal

internal energy - sum of all kinetic/potential energy in a system  

  • 1st law of thermodynamics - energy is conserved, moves between system/surroundings
  • numerical value of E can't be found, only change in E (DE)
  • DE = Efinal - Einitial
  • DE negative when energy lost (exothermic)
  • DE positive when energy gained (endothermic)
  • DE = q + w
    • q positive when heat moves from surroundings into system, negative when heat moves from system into surroundings
    • w positive when surroundings work on system, negative when system works on surroundings

system - area isolated for study  

  • surroundings - everything other than the system in question
  • closed system - can exchange energy but not matter w/ surroundings

state function - property of system determined by its condition/state  

  • doesn't depend on how a change is carried out
  • examples of state functions - E, DE
  • not examples of state functions - work, heat
Subject: 
Subject X2: 

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!