Final answer:
The ant farm had lower entropy before the earthquake due to its organized structure. After the earthquake, the system's entropy increased due to the resulting disorganization and increased number of possible configurations for the sand grains.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering the scenario of an elaborate ant farm with tunnels and passageways through the sand where ants live in a large community, entropy can be understood as a measure of disorder or randomness in a system. Before the earthquake, the ant farm with its structured tunnels and organized chambers would be in a state of lower entropy. This is because the system is more ordered and there are fewer possible configurations for the sand grains and the tunnels. After the earthquake, the system would be in a state of higher entropy because the previously structured tunnels and chambers are now demolished, resulting in a more disorganized state with many more possible configurations for the sand grains.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time. Therefore, when the earthquake occurs and destroys the ant farm's structure, the entropy of the ant farm system increases. So, in reference to the original question, the ant farm was in a state of higher entropy after the earthquake.