Final answer:
The order of increasing entropy is crystalline solid, liquid, and gas. Entropy measures the system's disorder, with crystalline solids being the most ordered, and gases the least ordered, thus having the highest entropy.
Step-by-step explanation:
To address the student's question regarding the order of increasing entropy for different states of matter, we need to examine how the particle arrangements in these states contribute to the degree of disorder. Entropy, by definition, is a measure of the disorder or randomness in a system, indicative of the number of microstates available to the system. A crystalline solid has the lowest entropy because its particles are fixed in a well-ordered lattice structure, allowing for only a few microstates. As we transition to a liquid, the particles have more freedom to move, thus increasing the entropy. Finally, a gas state has the highest entropy as the particles are free to move in a much larger volume with far more microstates accessible.
Given these characteristics, the correct order of increasing entropy is:
- Crystalline solid
- Liquid
- Gas
During phase transitions such as melting or vaporization, entropy increases (∆S > 0), reflecting the greater number of microstates available to the molecules in these less ordered states.