Chapter 24, Problem 47A

Water put into a freezer compartment in your refrigerator goes to a state of less molecular disorder when it freezes. Is this an exception to the entropy principle? Explain.

To determine

To explain: Whether the given condition is an exception to entropy principle or not.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

An entropy is closely related to the energy. Energy is the capacity to do work while the entropy describes the disorder of a system.

The definition of entropy conveys that there will always an increase in an entropy of the Universe. The water in a freezer of a refrigerator exhibits a reduced state of molecular disorder in the ice formed. However, the freezing of water takes place by dissemination of energy that increases the disorder of refrigerators. So, the work has been put into the refrigeration system. Hence, the entropy principle holds good even in this case.

Conclusion:

Therefore, the given situation is not an exception to an entropy principle.