This topic, from the Institute of Physics, encourage students to learn more about how the microscopic behaviour of particles gives rise to the macroscopic behaviour of materials. They can also see how this gives rise to a mathematical model for an ideal gas.

The learning episodes in this topic include:

From the Institute of Physics, these demonstrations, computer model and associated discussions help students to look at Brownian motion as evidence for the particulate nature of matter, and the macroscopic gas laws. The learning episode looks at: * Brownian motion and what it tells us about gases * investigating...

This learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, establishes the ideal gas law and how to use it. Worked examples and questions allow students to look at the behaviour of an ideal gas and see that an ideal gas is one that obeys Boyle’s law with complete precision.

The activities include:
* a...

Produced by the Institute of Physics, this learning episode allows students to relate the gas laws to the behaviour of the particles of a gas.

The activities look at:
* explaining pressure in terms of particles
* deriving an equation for the pressure of a gas
* the link between kinetic...

Following on from the kinetic theory of gases, this topic from the Institute of Physics, examine the same phenomena in macroscopic terms (energy supplied to materials) and microscopic terms (how the particles are behaving).

The learning episodes include:

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Produced by the Institute of Physics, this learning episode includes discussions, demonstrations and questions which introduce students to thermodynamics. These include compressing and expanding gases, adiabatic and isothermal changes.

In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students look at heat engines to find out about their efficiency and this leads into a discussion of the second law of thermodynamics.

The activities include:...

This learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, guide students to measure specific heat capacities experimentally and then see how energy must be supplied (or rejected) to increase (or decrease) the temperature of a material. Calculations are used to quantify the...

In this learning episode, produced by the Institute of Physics, students investigate how energy is involved in changes of phase, even though there is no change of temperature.

Using discussion, examples and...

From the Institute of Physics, these learning episodes act as an introduction to cosmology and ideas about the history of the Universe. Most students should have heard of the Big Bang and expanding Universe. This topic makes it all plausible and looks at the wave speed formula, diffraction by a grating and the...

In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students see that what we know about the Universe comes from observations which rely on the radiation and particles that reach us on Earth. Students discuss astronomical observations including spectra and the information they can carry.

The activities...

Produced by the Institute of Physics, these activities demonstrate the Doppler effect.

Using sound and microwaves, the activities illustrate how changes in wavelength of spectral lines allow us to determine the motion of astronomical objects relative to ourselves.

The activities include:
*...

From the Institute of Physics, these resources help students to understand that cosmology is the study of the Universe, its origins, history and possible future. In these activities, students look at the expanding universe and cosmology. There are two learning episodes in this topic:...