Question

Consider a system with a certain energy content, from which we wish to extract as much work as possible. Should the system’s entropy be high or low? Is this orderly or disorderly? Structured or uniform? Explain briefly.

a) High entropy, disorderly, and uniform.
b) Low entropy, orderly, and structured.
c) High entropy, orderly, and uniform.
d) Low entropy, disorderly, and structured.

Answer 1

High entropy means high disorder and low energy. Low entropy means low disorder and high energy. In a system from which we want to extract as much work as possible, the entropy should be low.

Step-by-step explanation:

An important concept in physical systems is that of order and disorder (also known as randomness). The more energy that is lost by a system to its surroundings, the less ordered and more random the system is. Scientists refer to the measure of randomness or disorder within a system as entropy.

High entropy means high disorder and low energy. To better understand entropy, think of a student's bedroom. If no energy or work were put into it, the room would quickly become messy. It would exist in a very disordered state, one of high entropy. Energy must be put into the system, in the form of the student doing work and putting everything away, in order to bring the room back to a state of cleanliness and order. This state is one of low entropy.