Final answer:
When a system contains stochastic components, it implies the presence of randomness causing unpredictable behavior. This contrasts with deterministic processes which tend to be more predictable. Even within chaotic systems, there can exist methods to predict certain behaviors to some extent.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a system contains stochastic components, it means that there are parts of the system that display random behavior. Stochastic processes are fundamentally unpredictable because they are influenced by random variables. Unlike deterministic processes that may be predictable due to their nature, stochastic elements introduce variability and uncertainty. For instance, the dispersal pattern in biology known as uniform dispersal shows predictable spacing between individuals, unlike a random dispersal pattern which would be considered stochastic.
It is also noteworthy that although behaviors may often seem predictable under certain rules and conditions, none is ever completely free from randomness. In systems where entropy increases, indicative of the second law of thermodynamics, the behavior becomes less orderly and more stochastic over time. However, chaos theory suggests that even in chaotic systems, there are methods to understand and predict certain behaviors, implying that determinism can still play a role amidst the randomness.