An Online Word-Problem Solver for Students of Thermodynamics

Pathway is a quick, easy, mouse or touch driven word-problem solver that will help you master those difficult thermodynamics courses. Pathway bridges the large gap between reading a word-problem and using your calculator to plug numbers into your final governing equation. The gap is how to actually get to that resulting governing equation. Pathway explains which equations to use, and shows various paths that lead to the governing equation for the given word-problem.

Pathway Tutorial Software

Pathway is a unique program, not to be confused with other solvers. Other solvers require you to find the governing equation. Rather than requiring you to first figure out the governing equation of a problem that you're trying to solve, Pathway shows you exactly which equations to use based upon the information you provide from the word problem. You can modify problems, create your own problems, and try out what-if scenarios. Effectively, Pathway takes the place of tutors or office hours.

Learn At Your Own Speed

Unlike tutors or teachers' assistants, Pathway is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as much as is needed. Once you subscribe, you can access the online tutorial at your convenience on any web-enabled device. You are not limited by a teacher's instructions, but can practice solving as many problems as you need to master the concepts, improve your accuracy, and prepare for class exams. Pathway levels the playing-field for those that require more help to get up to speed, it helps those that are strapped for time due to a greater number of obligations, or those that are not receiving the best lecture presentations.

Pathway's Proven Success

We tested an early generation of our tool in Thermodynamics ME200, a semester-long class at Purdue University. In that test, 120 students used the tool while 480 did not. Compared to the students that did not use the tool, the group that used the tool scored a letter and a half higher grade on each of the three midterms and the final exam. All 600 students took the same exams at the same time. TAs help grade all exams. And the team that developed the online tool were not involved in creating any of the in-class exams. Additionally, it was found the students using the tool finished their homework faster than those that did not use the tool. These results were presented at a conference and published in a journal of engineering education.

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