Question

Which of the following is an example of -ΔS?

Picking up marbles and placing them in a sack
Paint spilling onto the floor from a can
Grains of sand being dropped onto the carpet
Dropping a drop of red dye into water

Answer 1

ΔS is the change in entropy. Δ means change, S is entropy. So what is entropy? It's how disordered something is. 0 means that it is the most ordered possible, like a perfect crystal or the cleanest possible room in your house. Think of it like an ideal state, nothing can be perfect, everything is disorganized, because even your cleanest room has one spec of dust somewhere meaning it has some positive number for entropy. So that's what entropy is. But remember we want to know what ΔS is. That's the change in the order of something.

So if you have a bunch of cards stacked in a deck and then you drop them on the floor, the disorganization increases. So the entropy, disorder, increases. So that really just means a positive change of entropy is getting dirtier or more disordered. So that must mean that a negative change in entropy is really the opposite! It's cleaning up! It's sorting the deck of cards from random to in order! It's cleaning all the toys off the ground and putting them in a row on your shelf, etc...

Answer 2

So, the answer would be picking up marbles and placing them in a sack right?

Answer 3

Yeah, simple as that. Don't take this to be the literal definition though, it's only a helpful metaphor to help get your foot in the door with some intuition.

Answer 4

Yeah I understand it now Thank you! Would you happen to have some time to help me with another question?

Answer 5

Sure, I'll see what I can do. I'm kinda sleepy so I don't know how much longer I'll be on but it can't hurt to just ask.

Answer 6

I am told to match the appropriate name with the given particle

4^2He
1^1H
0^0γ
0^-1β
0^1e
1^0n

with

A.
Gamma photon
B.
Beta particle
C.
Proton
D.
Positron
E.
Neutron
F.
Alpha particle

Answer 7

I don't remember off the top of my head, but I'm sure google has the answers. Hunt them down, good luck!

Answer 8

ok thank you anyway!