Question

Which statement is correct?

Natural processes happen spontaneously when they decrease the entropy of a system because entropy increase is counteracted by the flow of enthalpy from high temperatures to low temperatures.
Among solids, liquids, and gases, solids generally have the highest entropy because solid particles are the least mobile, and entropy is inversely related to mobility of particles.
Any change that increases the number of particles in a system increases entropy because it increases the randomness and disorder of the system.
Dissolving table salt (NaCl) in water leads to a decrease in entropy because salt particles, which are numerous individual crystals in solid form, become a homogenous solution in water.

Answer 1

Any change that increases the number of particles in a system increases entropy because it increases the randomness and disorder of the system.

Step-by-step explanation:

Imagine dropping a glass pitcher on a hard surface. The pitcher breaks into numerous shards. If the shards were collected and dropped again, they would tend to break into smaller shards; they would not reassemble themselves into a pitcher. In the universe, there is a tendency for order to be replaced with disorder. This tendency is related to a concept called entropy. The formal definition of entropy is a measure of the degree of randomness and disorder in a system.

Answer 2

Among solids, liquids, and gases, solids generally have the highest entropy because solid particles are the least mobile, and entropy is inversely related to mobility of particles.