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Chapter 54: Problem 5

Why do the entropies of atom combination generally become more negative as the number of atoms in the molecule increases?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The entropy change becomes more negative as the number of atoms in a molecule increases because more atoms mean more possible arrangements or microstates, resulting in greater disorder or entropy. In the context of reactions, this is represented by a more negative ΔS.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Entropy

First, understand that entropy is a measure of the randomness or disorder of a system. In the context of molecules, the more complex a molecule (i.e., the more atoms it has), the more ways there are for the atoms to be arranged. This results in greater disorder.
02

The Concept of Microstates

A crucial concept related to entropy is that of microstates. A microstate is a specific arrangement of atoms in a system. The more atoms there are in a molecule, the greater the number of possible microstates. This directly leads to higher entropy.
03

Negative change in entropy

When entropies are accounted for in reactions (entropy change, ΔS), a more negative value represents an increase in disorder. Therefore, in a reaction forming a molecule with more atoms, the larger the number of microstates, the greater the disorder, and hence the entropy change becomes more negative.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Do you expect \(\Delta S\) for the following reaction to be positive or negative? Explain. $$ \mathrm{N}(\mathrm{g})+2 \mathrm{O}(\mathrm{g}) \rightleftharpoons \mathrm{NO}_{2}(\mathrm{~g}) $$

Why is \(\Delta S_{\mathrm{ac}}^{\circ}\) of \(\mathrm{N}(\mathrm{g})=0 ?\)

Do you expect \(\Delta S\) for the following reaction to be positive or negative? Explain. $$ \mathrm{N}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{4}(\mathrm{~g}) \rightleftharpoons 2 \mathrm{NO}_{2}(\mathrm{~g}) $$
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