Which of these statements are in accord with the three laws of thermodynamics?
-A-The entropy of the universe never decreases
-B-A nonspontaneous process can occur if it is coupled to a process which is sufficiently spontaneous
-C-The temperature of the universe stays the same
I know A is true but what about the other 2?
B is true. The temperature of the universe is cooling...energy is becoming diffuse.
To determine whether statements B and C are in accordance with the three laws of thermodynamics, we need to analyze each statement individually:
B - "A nonspontaneous process can occur if it is coupled to a process which is sufficiently spontaneous"
This statement is in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics. The second law states that in any spontaneous process, the total entropy of the system and its surroundings will always increase. However, it does not prohibit non-spontaneous processes from occurring. If a non-spontaneous process is coupled with a sufficiently spontaneous process, it can still occur. The overall change in entropy for the system and its surroundings will still be positive, satisfying the second law.
C - "The temperature of the universe stays the same"
This statement is not in accordance with the laws of thermodynamics. The third law of thermodynamics states that as temperature approaches absolute zero (0 Kelvin), the entropy of a pure perfect crystal approaches zero. However, this does not imply that the temperature of the universe stays the same. In reality, the universe is not in a state of thermal equilibrium, and temperature variations exist across different regions of the universe.
In summary, statement B is in accordance with the laws of thermodynamics, while statement C is not.