Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 18: Problem 96

Comment on the correctness of the analogy sometimes used to relate a student's dormitory room becoming untidy to an increase in entropy.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The analogy of comparing a student's dormitory room becoming untidy to an increase in entropy partially holds up, because both cases involve an increase in disorder or randomness. However, it's an oversimplification because in thermodynamics, entropy also involves the dispersal of energy, and a system naturally tends towards a state of higher entropy, neither of which are captured in the analogy.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the concept of entropy

Entropy in thermodynamics refers to the degree of disorder or randomness in a system. It is a state function, meaning its value is determined by the current state of the system, rather than how the system got to that state.
02

Relating entropy to the dormitory room

In the analogy, a tidy room can be considered a state of low entropy (organized) and an untidy room can be considered a state of high entropy (disorganized). However, it's important to note that in the context of thermodynamics, 'order' and 'disorder' are about the arrangements of particles at a microscopic level, not necessarily about the 'neatness' of the objects in a room.
03

Assessing the limitations of the analogy

While the dormitory room analogy can help in understanding the basic idea of entropy, it may oversimplify the concept and ignore some key aspects of it. In thermodynamics, increasing entropy is related to the dispersal or spreading out of energy, not just the disorder in arrangement of items. Additionally, in thermodynamics, a process naturally tends towards a state of higher entropy, but this might not necessarily be true for a dorm room; a student might regularly tidy up the room, which would decrease its 'entropy'.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

A student placed \(1 \mathrm{~g}\) of each of three compounds \(\mathrm{A}\) \(\mathrm{B},\) and \(\mathrm{C}\) in a container and found that after 1 week no change had occurred. Offer some possible explanations for the fact that no reactions took place. Assume that \(\mathrm{A}, \mathrm{B},\) and \(\mathrm{C}\) are totally miscible liquids.

What is a coupled reaction? What is its importance in biological reactions?

The standard enthalpy of formation and the standard entropy of gaseous benzene are \(82.93 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol}\) and \(269.2 \mathrm{~J} / \mathrm{K} \cdot\) mol, respectively. Calculate \(\Delta H^{\circ}, \Delta S^{\circ}\) and \(\Delta G^{\circ}\) for the process at \(25^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). Comment on your answers. $$ \mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{6}(l) \longrightarrow \mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{6}(g) $$

Large quantities of hydrogen are needed for the synthesis of ammonia. One preparation of hydrogen involves the reaction between carbon monoxide and steam at \(300^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) in the presence of a copper-zinc catalyst: $$ \mathrm{CO}(g)+\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}(g) \rightleftharpoons \mathrm{CO}_{2}(g)+\mathrm{H}_{2}(g) $$.

Under what conditions does a substance have a standard entropy of zero? Can a substance ever have a negative standard entropy?
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

Physical Chemistry

Read Explanation

Making Measurements

Read Explanation

Kinetics

Read Explanation

Chemical Reactions

Read Explanation

Nuclear Chemistry

Read Explanation

Chemistry Branches

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free