When heat flows from a hot spot to a cooler spot, entropy increases. When heat is forced to flow from a cool spot to a warmer spot, entropy decreases. Marta is looking for something in her house that causes a decrease in entropy. Which of these should she choose?
an egg frying
the toaster
an ice cube melting
the refrigerator
I think its an egg frying because the egg goes from runny to solid right?
A.) An egg frying is taking in heat and energy to undergo a change. Therefore, entropy is increasing.
B.) The toaster has coils that heat up. So if bread is placed within. Entropy is increasing.
C.) An ice cube melting will be releasing energy to change its state. So entropy is increasing.
D.) The refrigerator to cool uses coils that take air and compress it. In the inside it's cooler than the outside. Hence entropy is decreasing.
Actually, you are correct that an egg frying involves a transition from a runny state to a solid state, which can be seen as an increase in orderliness and a decrease in entropy. However, out of the options provided, the answer is actually the refrigerator.
When heat is forced to flow from a cool spot (inside the refrigerator) to a warmer spot (outside the refrigerator), it requires additional energy and work to be performed. This act of active cooling, such as in a refrigerator, reduces the disorder or randomness of the system, thereby decreasing its entropy.
Actually, when looking for something that causes a decrease in entropy, Marta should choose the refrigerator. Entropy is a measure of disorder or randomness in a system. In the case of heat transfer, entropy tends to increase when heat flows from a hot spot to a cooler spot.
In this context, an egg frying, the toaster, and an ice cube melting all involve heat flowing from a hot spot (higher temperature) to a cooler spot (lower temperature). Therefore, these processes increase entropy.
On the other hand, a refrigerator operates by removing heat from its interior and transferring it to the surrounding environment, which causes the cooling inside. This process forces heat to flow from a cool spot (inside the refrigerator) to a warmer spot (outside the refrigerator). By doing so, the refrigerator decreases the entropy within its interior.
It's important to note that the physical state change of an egg frying (liquid to solid) or an ice cube melting (solid to liquid) is not directly related to the change in entropy. The key factor in determining the entropy change is the direction of the heat flow.