Section A: Multiple Choice(10mks)

Question1
If you flip 4 fair coins, how many possible outcomes (microstates) are there?

A) 8
B) 16
C) 4
D) 10
Question 2
In a two-state system, what does the term “microstate” refer to?

A) The total number of particles

B) A specific arrangement of particles
C) The energy of the system
D) The temperature of the system
Question 3
What is the multiplicity of a macrostate with 1 head when flipping 100 coins?
A) 100
B) 1
C) 50
D) 0
Question 4
What is the total number of possible outcomes when flipping 20 fair coins?
A) 20
B) 40
C) 220
D) 10
Question 5
What is the primary characteristic of a two-state paramagnet?

A) It has multiple energy levels.

B) It consists of N magnetic dipoles with two possible states.
C) It is a perfect conductor.
D) It has no magnetic properties
Question 6
In the context of entropy, what does the term "multiplicity" refer to?
A) The number of particles in a system.
B) The number of ways a system can be arranged.
C) The total energy of the system.
D) The temperature of the system.
Question 7
What is the formula for entropy (S) in terms of multiplicity (Ω)?

A) S = k ln(Ω)
B) S = Ω/k
C) S = k * Ω
D) S = ln(Ω)/k
Question 8
What does the heat capacity (C) of a system represent?
A) The amount of energy required to change the temperature of the system.
B) The total energy of the system.
C) The entropy of the system.
D) The pressure of the system.
Question 9
Using Stirling's approximation, how is the multiplicity function simplified?

A) Ω ≈ 𝑁 𝑁
B) Ω ≈ 𝑁!⁄(𝑁1 ! × 𝑁2 !)
C) Ω ≈ 𝑁 𝑁 × 𝑒 −𝑁
D) Ω ≈ 𝑁 ln(𝑁)
Question 10
What is the significance of the Boltzmann constant (k) in thermodynamics?

A) It relates temperature to energy.

B) It measures pressure.
C) It defines the volume of a gas.
D) It is used to calculate density.
Section B: Definitions and Concepts
Question 11 (2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2)10mks
I. Define Macrostates and Microstates and explain their differences.
Macrostates are the large-scale descriptions of a system that specify overall properties such as
temperature, pressure, and total energy.
Microstates are the different possible arrangements of the individual particles (atoms or
molecules) that make up the macrostate.
Difference:
A macrostate describes the system as a whole, while a microstate describes the specific detailed
configuration of its particles.
Many microstates can correspond to a single macrostate.

II. Define Multiplicity and state its equation in terms of 𝑞 Energy and N oscillators.
Multiplicity (Ω) is the number of possible microstates corresponding to a given macrostate of a
system. It represents how many different ways the system’s total energy can be distributed
among its particles or [Link] a system of 𝑁 oscillators sharing 𝑞 units of energy, the
multiplicity is given by the equation:

(𝑞 + 𝑁 − 1)!
Ω=
𝑞! (𝑁 − 1)!

III. Define entropy and explain its relation to multiplicity, and also state its general
equation.
Entropy (𝑺) is a measure of the disorder or randomness of a system, and it quantifies how
many microscopic arrangements (microstates) correspond to a given macrostate.
Entropy is directly related to multiplicity (𝛀) — the greater the multiplicity (number of
possible microstates), the higher the entropy of the system
The general equation for entropy is:
𝑺 = 𝒌𝐥𝐧⁡ 𝛀

IV. State the general definition of temperature and also define it in terms of entropy and
energy.
Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a system. It
determines the direction of heat flow — heat always flows from a region of higher temperature
to one of lower [Link] terms of entropy and energy: Temperature is defined by the
relationship between entropy (S) and energy (E) as:
1 𝜕𝑆
=( )
𝑇 𝜕𝐸 𝑉
 V. Explain Reversible and Irreversible processes.

A reversible process is an ideal process that occurs infinitely slowly so that the system and its
surroundings remain in thermodynamic equilibrium at all times. It can be reversed without leaving any
net change in either the system or the [Link]: Isothermal expansion of a gas carried out
very slowly.

Irreversible Process:
An irreversible process is a real process that occurs spontaneously and cannot be exactly reversed. It
involves friction, unbalanced forces, heat loss, or rapid changes, leading to an increase in
[Link]: Free expansion of a gas or spontaneous heat flow from hot to cold.

Question 12 (10mks)
Filling in the blanks from the table.

Type of Interaction Exchanged Quantity Governing Variable Formula

Thermal Heat Energy Temperature 1 𝜕𝑆

=( )
𝑇 𝜕𝑈 𝑉,𝑁

Volume Pressure 𝑃 𝜕𝑆
=( )
Mechanical 𝑇 𝜕𝑉 𝑈,𝑁

Particles Chemical Potential 𝜇 𝛿𝑆

= −( )
Diffusive 𝑇 𝛿𝑁 𝑈,𝑉

Table 2.0: Summary of the three types of Interactions.

Section C : Calculations.
Question 13 (5mks)
Suppose you flip four fair coins.

i. Make a list of all the possible outcomes.

ii. Make a list of all the different “microstate” and their probabilities.
iii. Compute the multiplicity of each microstate using the combinatorial formula and
then confirm with the brute-force counting.
SOLUTION
 (i). (a) Here are all the possible outcomes, 16 in total:
TTTT TTHH THHH
TTTH THTH HTHH
TTHT THHT HHTH
THTT HTTH HHHT
HTTT HTHT HHHH
HHTT
(ii). The microstates are:
0 heads, Ω = 1, probability = 1/16
1 head, Ω= 4, probability = 4/16
2 heads, Ω = 6, probability = 6/16
3 heads, Ω = 4, probability = 4/16
4 heads, Ω = 1, probability = 1/16

Question 14 (5mks)
For an Einstein solid with each of the following values of N and q, list all of the possible
microstates, count them, and verify formula 2.9.

(a).N = 3, q = 4
400 310 031 220 211
040 301 103 202 121
004 130 013 022 112
15 microstates, according to the formula, there should be:
4+3−1 6! 720
( )= = = 15
4 4! 2! 48

(b) N = 3, q = 5

500 410 041 320 032 311 221

050 401 104 302 203 131 212
005 140 041 230 023 113 122

21 microstates according to the formula

5+3−1 7! 5040
( )= = = 21
5 5! 2! 240
(c) N = 4, q = 2

2000 0020 1100 1001 0101

0200 0002 1010 0110 0011

10 microstates according to the formula

2+4−1 5! 120
( )= = = 10
2 2! 3! 12

(d) N = 4 ,q = 3

3000 2100 0210 0021 1110

0300 2010 0201 1002 1101
0030 2001 1020 0102 1011
0003 1200 0120 0012 0111

20 microstates according to the formula:

3+4−1 6! 720
( )= = = 20
3 3! 3! 36

Question 15 (5mks)
Use Table 3.1 to compute the temperatures of solid A and solid B when 𝑞𝐴 = 1. Then compute
both temperatures when 𝑞𝐴 = 60 . Express your answers in terms of 𝜖 ⁄𝑘 , and then in kelvins
assuming that 𝜖 = 0.1 eV

Table 3.1. Macrostates, multiplicities, and entropies of a system of two Einstein solids, one with
300 oscillators and the other with 200, sharing a total of 100 units of energy.
Solution

When,𝑞𝐴 = 1
∆𝑈𝐴 2𝜖 − 0𝜖
𝑇𝐴 = = = 0.19 𝜖 ⁄𝑘 = 220𝐾
∆𝑆𝐴 10.7𝑘 − 0𝑘

Where the last value 𝜖 = 0.1𝑒𝑉 (so that 𝜖 ⁄𝑘 = (0.1𝑒𝑉)⁄(8.62 × 10−5 𝑒𝑉⁄𝐾 ) = 1160𝐾

Similarly
∆𝑈𝐵 100𝜖 − 98𝜖
𝑇𝐵 = = = 0.91 𝜖 ⁄𝑘 = 220𝐾
∆𝑆𝐵 187.5𝑘 − 185.3𝑘

As expected, solid B is much hotter when it has nearly all the energy. However, at 𝑞𝐴 = 60
∆𝑈𝐴 61𝜖 − 59𝜖
𝑇𝐴 = = = 0.57 𝜖 ⁄𝑘 = 660𝐾
∆𝑆𝐴 160.9𝑘 − 157.4𝑘

While,
∆𝑈𝐵 41𝜖 − 39𝜖
𝑇𝐵 = = = 0.57 𝜖 ⁄𝑘 = 660𝐾
∆𝑆𝐵 107𝑘 − 103.5𝑘

At this point, the temperatures are essentially the same.

Question 16 (5mks)
An ice cube (mass 30 g) at 0℃ is left sitting on the kitchen table, where it gradually melts. The
temperature in the kitchen is 25ºC.

(a) Calculate the change in the entropy of the ice cube as it melts into water at 0°C. (Don't
worry about the fact that the volume changes somewhat.)

As the ice melts into water, its entropy increases by

𝑄 𝑚𝐿 ((30𝑔)(333𝐽/𝐾))
∆𝑆 = = = = 36.6⁡𝐽/𝐾
𝑇 𝑇 273𝐾
(b) Calculate the change in the entropy of the water (from the melted ice) as its
temperature rises from 0℃ to 25°C.

As the temperature rises, its entropy increases by

𝑇𝑓
𝐶𝑑𝑇 𝑇𝑓 𝐽 298𝐾
∆𝑆 = ∫ = 𝐶 ln ( ) = (⁡30𝑔⁡) (⁡4.186 ⁡⁡) ln ( ) = 11.0⁡𝐽/𝐾
𝑇 𝑇𝑖 𝑔𝐾 273𝐾
𝑇𝑖
 (c) Calculate the change in the entropy of the kitchen as it gives up heat to the melting
ice/water.

The heat lost by the kitchen is the same as the heat lost by the ice/water 𝑚𝐿 + 𝑚𝑐∆𝑇 so the
change in kitchen’s entropy is

𝑄 −(30𝑔)(333𝐽/𝑔) − (30𝑔)(4.186 𝐽⁄𝑔𝐾 )

∆𝑆 = = = −44.1𝐽/𝐾
𝑇 298𝐾

(d) Calculate the net change in the entropy of the universe during this process.

Is the net change positive, negative, or zero? Is this what you would expect?

The net change net change in the entropy of the universe due to these events

∆𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 36.6 𝐽⁄𝐾 + 11.0 𝐽⁄𝐾 − 441 𝐽⁄𝐾 = 3.5 𝐽⁄𝐾

Since this is an irreversible process, the entropy of the universe has increased (but
only slightly, since the temperatures of the ice and the kitchen differed by less than
10%).