Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (Basic Concepts In Chemistry)

Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics provides undergraduate chemistry students with a grounding in both classical and statistical thermodynamics. Thermodynamic quantities and relationships are introduced and developed in a coherent way, enabling students to apply thermodynamic analysis to chemical problems with confidence. Each stage in the development is well illustrated with examples. The book aims to help students understand energy, its different forms and transformations, and the key rold of entropy, as applied to chemical systems, addressing such questions as:

• How much work is performed, and how much heat transfer occurs, during chemical processes and reactions, and how do they depend on temperature?
  
• How is it possible for endothermic processes to occur spontaneously, and will a given reaction occurs spontaneously?
  
• What determines the equilibrium between phases?
  
• How do temperature and pressure affect equilibrium?
  
• What is the meaning of entropy?
  
• How are macroscopic thermodynamic properties related to microscopic energy levels?