Faculty survey on upper-division thermal physics content coverage

TL;DR

This study surveys over 140 institutions to identify commonalities and differences in upper-division thermal physics course content, aiming to inform the development of broadly applicable instructional tools and assessments.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive analysis of content variability in upper-division thermal physics courses across institutions.

Findings

Nine key topical areas are covered by all institutions.

Significant variation exists in course content focus.

Results inform development of universal instructional resources.

Abstract

Thermal physics is a core course requirement for most physics degrees and encompasses both thermodynamics and statistical mechanics content. However, the primary content foci of thermal physics courses vary across universities. This variation can make creation of materials or assessment tools for thermal physics difficult. To determine the scope and content variability of thermal physics courses across institutions, we distributed a survey to over 140 institutions to determine content priorities from faculty and instructors who have taught upper-division thermodynamics and/or statistical mechanics. We present results from the survey, which highlight key similarities and differences in thermal physics content coverage across institutions. Though we see variations in content coverage, we found 9 key topical areas covered by all respondents in their upper-division thermal physics courses. We discuss implications of these findings for the development of instructional tools and assessments that are useful to the widest range of institutions and physics instructors.