Question

Your friend says that the second law of thermodynamics can't be true because life itself is a highly ordered system that wouldn't exist if everything tended to maximum entropy. What is your friend forgetting about life on the earth?

A. Living things start out disordered and then increase in entropy.

B. Living things start out ordered and then increase in entropy.

C. The earth is not a closed system, and energy enters it as sunlight.

D. The earth is a closed system, and thus the environment is at maximum entropy.

**Not sure at all! :( Thank you!

Answer 1

have you got a source for the second law of thermo?

Answer 2

i think so... that entropy will always increase over time?

Answer 3

that's only part of it

Answer 4

because the second law of thermo specifically mentions what kind of system applies

Answer 5

ohhh okay... ermm heat and energy? :/

Answer 6

the second law of thermo applies \(only\) to a closed system

Answer 7

ohhhh okay i see :) does that mean for this problem, they are looking for choice D? :/

Answer 8

I think that earth is not a closed system, whereas Universe, as we know it, is a closed system

Answer 9

ohhh i am confused then.. which choice would be most appropriate? :/

Answer 10

I think C

Answer 11

ooh okay!! thank you:D

Answer 12

thank you!! :)