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Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: fqn721 on June 27, 2020, 06:21:23 AM

Title: Increase or decrease of entropy
Post by: fqn721 on June 27, 2020, 06:21:23 AM
Hey everybody I'm having a little bit of trouble with this seemingly simple question.

I have to discuss different processes and decide wether the entropy decreases or increases:

• physiological synthesis of myoglobin from approximately 150 amino acids
- here I am really clueless I would have said it increases but I can't really state why... It just seems like through the synthesis the "measure of the ignorance of the states of all individual particles" (<-- something I've read about entropie)  increases.
         
• freezing of water
- I say decreased. but only because i know that when Ice melts the entropy of the water in the ice increases (as stated by Rudolf Clausius - 1862)

• sorting entries of a database
- again I'm only guessing here but I think it decreases, as I've heard entropy being a "measure of disorder"  and so sorting entries of a database would decrease the disorder.

• H3CN2CH3(g) → H3CCH3(g) + N2(g)


The last one leaves me completely clueless...

Thanks to everyone who takes their time to help me with this problem.

Title: Re: Increase or decrease of entropy
Post by: fqn721 on June 27, 2020, 07:58:26 AM
After reading more into it I think now that the last one is also increasing.
Title: Re: Increase or decrease of entropy
Post by: Babcock_Hall on July 01, 2020, 10:37:19 AM
Which has more translational freedom, 150 amino acids or a polymer of these amino?  I would also factor into my thinking the idea that in myoglobin, the sequence of amino acids is defined.
Title: Re: Increase or decrease of entropy
Post by: Hacktacular on July 04, 2020, 08:21:21 AM
Consider entropy the 'measure of disorder' in a system (as you stated) - the more disordered, the more entropy: Approach the problems with that idea. (And physical chemists may flay me alive for such a simplification but it's a good initial guide). What are the arrangements of the molecules in a solid vs that of a liquid: Are the molecules more or less disordered?