This page will collect the contributions from the teachers who have used this unit, in total or in part, in the classroom.
Initially it just contains a few "teaching suggestions" which we could call "theoretical", although they are based on our teaching experience.
The work on "Heat engines" in the classroom will, no doubt, be the source of more valuable contributions.
The objectives of the teaching unit are:
To understand the concept of a simple machine as an artifact that saves effort but not work.
To understand the way that energy from wind or water is transformed into the mechanical energy of a circular movement.
To understand the equivalence between mechanical energy and heat.
To be able to state the first and second laws of thermodynamics in a simple way.
To learn to use the mathematical formulae of these laws to carry out simple predictions about the working of machines and engines.
We welcome all types of contributions, like the time taken to work with the unit, problems, suggestions for improvements, criticism, positive points, etc., at: