Basic Thermodynamics Problem Set

1) Give 2 equivalent statements of the 1st Law of Thermodynamics.

2) Give 2 equivalent statements of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.

3) A apple pie can be unbaked by burying it at the base of an apple tree and waiting for it to fertilize the tree, which will produce new apples. Does that violate the second law of thermodynamics?

4) One can continuously remove air from the atmosphere, cool it, and return the air to the atmosphere. The heat extracted from the air can be used to run an engine or to charge a battery. That is all true. Does it solve the energy crisis? Explain.

5) From van Holde: questions 2.1, 2.5, 2.6,

6) Bonus question: Somewhere in the basement of the Chem Annex is a picture of left-handed B-DNA. Where is it?

7) Extra Bonus question: In the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, there is a large cheap 3D model of DNA. There are two general types of errors (each repeated many times) in this model. What are they?

8) Extra extra Bonus question. Also in the Fernbank Museum of Natural History (next to the model of DNA), there is a space filling representation of a molecule. The legend reads something to the effect of: "Amino acids are very important in living systems..." What is the molecule? (hint, it is not an amino acid.)