Which of the following statements is true about the second law of thermodynamics?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
Which of the following statements is true about the second law of thermodynamics?
Energy can be created
Entropy of an isolated system always decreases
Entropy of an isolated system always increases
Energy can be destroyed
The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: Which of the following statements is true about the second law of thermodynamics?
Solution: The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what entropy means. Entropy is a measure of disorder or randomness in a system.
Step 2: Recognize that the second law of thermodynamics deals with energy and entropy in isolated systems.
Step 3: Learn that an isolated system is one that does not exchange energy or matter with its surroundings.
Step 4: Remember that the second law states that the total entropy in an isolated system will either increase or stay the same over time, but it will never decrease.
Step 5: Conclude that this means systems naturally progress towards more disorder or randomness.
