When a student cleans their dorm room, the entropy of the system must decrease.

Question

When a student cleans their dorm room, the entropy of the system must decrease. How is this NOT a violation of the second law of thermodynamics? possible options: explain the answer please
The entropy of the room decreases, but because energy is absorbed, the total entropy increases. Energy is transferred from the universe to the room, increasing the entropy of the universe. Energy is expended, so the entropy of the universe continues to increase. The entropy of the dorm room decreases, but the internal entropy of the objects increases. When a student cleans their dorm room, the entropy of the system must decrease. How is this NOT a violation of the second law of thermodynamics? When a student cleans their dorm room, the entropy of the system must decrease. How is this NOT a violation of the second law of thermodynamics? The entropy of the room decreases, but because energy is absorbed, the total entropy increases. Energy is transferred from the universe to the room, increasing the entropy of the universe. Energy is expended, so the entropy of the universe continues to increase. The entropy of the dorm room decreases, but the internal entropy of the objects increases. The entropy of the room decreases, but because energy is absorbed, the total entropy increases. Energy is transferred from the universe to the room, increasing the entropy of the universe. Energy is expended, so the entropy of the universe continues to increase. The entropy of the dorm room decreases, but the internal entropy of the objects increases. The entropy of the room decreases, but because energy is absorbed, the total entropy increases. Energy is transferred from the universe to the room, increasing the entropy of the universe. Energy is expended, so the entropy of the universe continues to increase. The entropy of the dorm room decreases, but the internal entropy of the objects increases.

Explanation / Answer

Energy is expended, so the entropy of the universe continues to increase.

If we look at the dorm room as a "system", then the student becomes the "surroundings" (universe). As the system becomes more ordered, the surroundings become more disordered. This happens because as the student cleans, they are expending energy that causes a higher entropy in the surroundings than in the system. This is how the second law is not violated.

So basically...the more order you try to create in a system, the more disordered the world around that system becomes. This is hard to see in our world because of the many safety standards we place on nearly every product man concieves.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse W
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.