Thermodynamics for Engineering Students

What is Thermodynamics?

Thermo is the branch of physics that deals with temperature and  pressure and how they are related to work and energy.   Thermodynamics  applies to a wide variety of applications such as combustion engines,  heating and air conditioning systems, and jet propulsion, along with many, many others.

Who should enroll in this course?

• Engineering students wanting to get a head start on an upcoming Thermo course

• Students currently taking Thermo who need extra examples and explanations

• Students and professionals who are preparing to take the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam

• Anyone with an interest in learning about work and energy 

How’s this course different from the other online Thermo courses? Why should I enroll in this course?

This course covers all the topics needed to gain an understanding of the basics of thermodynamics.  We will cover:

• Pressure and temperature

• Work and energy of closed systems

• Steam Tables

• Enthalpy

• Compressibility charts

• Ideal gas model

• Mass flow rates

• Work and energy of control volumes

• Thermodynamic efficiencies

• Entropy

• And more!

What sets this course apart from others is the number of worked  examples.  Being an instructor of Thermodynamics for many years, I  understand the need for examples.  So many instructors simply show a  solution to a problem or only solve it halfway and just assume the  student knows how to finish it. 

This used to be one of my biggest  frustrations as a student so I can relate when I hear today’s students  complain about this.  To prevent this frustration, this course has many,  many fully-worked example problems in a range of difficulty levels. I also don’t assume you know more than you do.  We start with the basics and work our way up to more complex material.

Now, what good is learning material if you can’t check your understanding, right?  To assist with this, quiz problems are provided  throughout the course.  To check your work, video solutions of each quiz are provided.

In addition, the outline of the notes I use in the videos is provided as a downloadable file to help you follow along during the  course.

Will the material taught  prepare me for other courses?

The relationships between pressure, temperature, density, work and energy are fundamental to so many areas.  As such, this course will prepare you for more advanced topics like

• Combustion

• Heat transfer

• Fluid mechanics

• Propulsion

• Aerodynamics

• And many others

How’s the course structured and what prior knowledge is needed?  Do I need a book?

You will have handwritten lectures followed by fully worked examples.  There are NO PowerPoint slides used in this course.  From my experience  students learn best when following along and writing the notes versus  just listening to someone talk while staring at a bunch of slides.  And of course, throughout the class you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge using quizzes.

The examples we cover do use basic concepts from Calculus such as  derivatives and integrals.  In order to understand the material and  examples you should know these concepts.

As for the textbook, I will be using the 8th Edition of Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics  by Moran, Shapiro, Boettner, and Bailey.  ISBN: 978-1118412930.   Although not required, this book is a great resource and I strongly  encourage you to get a copy for yourself.  We will be covering the first  6 chapters of this text.   

What are you waiting for? There’s no better time than now to get started. Enroll today!