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Chapter 10: Problem 5

What is entropy?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Entropy is a measure of disorder within a macroscopic system, or the number of ways a system can be arranged. It is a fundamental concept in thermodynamics and signifies that systems tend to evolve towards a state of maximum entropy, or disorder.

Step by step solution

01

Definition

Entropy is a fundamental concept in thermodynamics, which is the branch of physical science that deals with the relations between heat and other forms of energy. It is typically denoted by the symbol 'S'. It is a measure of the number of specific ways in which a thermodynamic system may be arranged, often taken to be a measure of disorder, or a measure of progressing towards thermodynamic equilibrium.
02

Detailed Explanation

When a system changes from a highly ordered state to a less ordered state, its entropy increases. For instance, when a gas is released into a room, it tends to spread out evenly and fill the whole room, increasing the system's entropy. When a system reaches a state where entropy can no longer increase, such as our example of the gas filling the whole room, it has reached thermodynamic equilibrium. This concept also asserts that in an isolated system, the total entropy can only increase over time. This statement is known as the second law of thermodynamics.
03

Practical Example

A practical everyday example of entropy can be seen when you break a glass. The broken glass represents a more disordered state and thus has a higher entropy than the intact glass. No matter how you tried, you would never be able to revert the broken glass back to its original intact form. This is entropy at work, pushing systems to become more disordered.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

You need 70.2 \(\mathrm{J}\) to raise the temperature of 34.0 \(\mathrm{g}\) of ammonia, \(\mathrm{NH}_{3}(g),\) from \(23.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) to \(24.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) . Calculate the molar heat capacity of ammonia.

A reaction has \(\Delta H=-356 \mathrm{kJ}\) and \(\Delta S=-36\) \(\mathrm{J} / \mathrm{K} .\) Calculate \(\Delta G\) at \(25^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) to confirm that the reaction is spontaneous.

Why must nutritionists make corrections to bomb calorimetric data if a food contains cellulose or other indigestible fibers?

Why are the specific heats of \(\mathrm{F}_{2}(g)\) and \(\mathrm{Br}_{2}(g)\) very different, whereas their molar heat capacities are very similar?

Why is entropy described as an extensive property?
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