The Particulate Nature of Matter: notes and practice questions

Thermal physics, the greenhouse effect, gases and dc circuits. B.1 covers specific heat capacity, latent heat, the three transfer mechanisms, the Stefan-Boltzmann law and Wien's law, which is why it feeds straight into astrophysics in E.5. B.2 is the Earth-atmosphere energy balance with albedo, emissivity and the solar constant. B.3 is kinetic theory and the ideal gas law. B.5 is current, resistance, resistivity, power and circuits with internal resistance. HL adds B.4: the laws of thermodynamics, entropy from both the macroscopic and the microstate side, adiabatic and isothermal processes, heat engines and the Carnot limit. The hard part at SL is that B.2 asks students to think about a system as a whole rather than an object, and the factor of four in $S/4$ catches people every year. At HL the sign convention in the first law is the classic error. Examined through energy-balance calculations, $V$-$I$ graphs with non-ohmic components, and at HL entropy and $PV$-cycle questions.