  Moore and Schroeder proposed an effective approach to introducing entropy and
the second law through computational study of models with easily countable
states at fixed energy. But such systems are rare: the only familiar examples
are the Einstein solid and the two-state paramagnet, which limits the available
questions for assignment or discussion. This work considers the more general
p-state paramagnet and describes the modestly more complicated counting of its
microstates. An instructor can draw on this family of systems to assign a
variety of new problems or open-ended projects that students can complete with
the help of a spreadsheet program or analytic calculation.
