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Relationships with Entropy

Jul 6, 2025

Overview

The lecture focuses on entropy (S), how it changes with temperature and phase, and the general rules for predicting entropy changes in chemical and physical processes.

Entropy and Disorder

  • Entropy (S) measures disorder in a system; higher disorder means higher entropy.
  • As matter changes phase from solid to liquid to gas, entropy increases.
  • Dissolving a solid into aqueous ions also increases entropy due to increased mixing and disorder.

Entropy and Temperature

  • Entropy increases as temperature increases for all phases.
  • The relationship between entropy and temperature is directly proportional: higher temperature, higher entropy.
  • The increase in entropy (ΔS) for a given temperature change is greater at lower temperatures than at higher temperatures.
  • ΔS is inversely proportional to temperature; the same heat added increases entropy more at lower temperature.

Phase Changes and Entropy

  • There is a large jump in entropy during phase changes (e.g., solid to liquid).
  • When heating a substance within the same phase, entropy increases gradually with temperature.

Practical Analogy and Implications

  • Adding the same amount of heat to a cold object increases its entropy more than adding it to a hot object.
  • Heat always transfers from hot to cold because it results in a net increase in total entropy, consistent with the second law of thermodynamics.

Key Terms & Definitions

  • Entropy (S) — a thermodynamic property indicating the degree of disorder or randomness in a system.
  • ΔS (Change in Entropy) — the difference in entropy between two states, influenced by temperature and phase changes.
  • Second Law of Thermodynamics — states that the total entropy of an isolated system always increases in a spontaneous process.

Action Items / Next Steps

  • Review rules for entropy changes with phase and temperature.
  • Prepare for using these entropy relationships in future calculations.