The word thermodynamics comes from the Greek word thermos which means heat and dynamis which means power. Instead of being grouped within the chemistry family, thermodynamics is part of the physics family.

Essentially, thermodynamics is a science which studies the changes in temperature, pressure, and volume on physical systems on the macroscopic scale by analyzing the collective motion of their particles through observation and statistics.

Because heat means energy in transit and dynamics is associated with movement; thermodynamics studies the movement of energy and how energy creates movement.