In a book that I was recently reading, it noted, “…equilibrium thermodynamics…has a rather bad reputation for being sloppily taught and full of mysterious jargon.” I have also found that nearly all thermodynamics textbooks are so poorly written that the content, structure, and importance of thermodynamics is lost. I have been developing a three-quarter sequence of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. It begins with an introduction how thermodynamics can be used to predict changes in material properties and using entropy in determining the which changes in properties are possible or impossible.The second quarter of the course uses statistical mechanics to provide understanding of otherwise “mysterious jargon.” The third quarter uses statistical mechanics in a wide range of projects that have included the spread of infectious diseases, the growth of cities, the collective motion of animals, and chaotic dynamics.