A Unified Approach to Explain Thermo-Fluid Science Concepts Using Interactive Molecular-Level Simulations

Engineering students may possess misconceptions about topics in thermo-fluid sciences. These misconceptions, once formed, persist with students at the junior and senior levels. Educational research shows that learning is enhanced when concepts are described at the molecular level as emergent processes. A review of college textbooks used in the engineering curriculum revealed a mixed trend towards including molecular level descriptions of scientific processes. However, these descriptions are often not presented as emergent processes at the molecular level consistently when discussing topics. In support of an ongoing study, interactive molecular-level simulations have been created to help students develop an enhanced understanding of scientific processes in the thermal and fluid sciences.