Debra Blake Semmler, Physics, East Mecklenburg High School
Implementing IB and AP Standards (PDF)
Keywords: PHYSICS, THERMODYNAMICS, HEAT ENGINES, NASCAR, IDEAL GAS LAWS
200-word synopsis:
The roaring engine is like the heart of the car providing the conversion of the chemical energy in the fuel to torque in the crankshaft to the rotation in the wheels. So how does this work? That is the question I will answer in this curriculum unit. I will address the conversion of chemical energy in the fuel to thermal energy and how that thermal energy in the working gas is converted to mechanical energy by the piston. The driving force of the piston creates the torque transferred to the tires that propel the car forward. My unit discusses the thermodynamics of heat engines and defining the terms, isobaric, isovolumentic, isothermal and adiabatic for an ideal working gas. The unit explores in detail the physics of Sterling engine heat cycle as it relates to the Carnot cycle.
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