Understanding Entropy in Hot Spoon and Cold Water Experiment

If a hot spoon is placed in a glass of cold water, what happens to the entropies of the molecules in the spoon and the water molecules?

A. Spoon increase, water increase

B. Spoon increase, water decrease

C. Spoon decrease, water increase

D. Spoon decrease, water decrease

Answer: C

Explanation: When a hot spoon is placed in cold water, the spoon's entropy decreases and the water's entropy increases as heat is transferred from the spoon to the water. So the correct option is C.

When a hot spoon is placed in a glass of cold water, the entropy of the molecules in the spoon decreases, and the entropy of the water molecules increases. This is because entropy can be thought of as the measure of disorder within a system.

The hot spoon transfers heat to the colder water, resulting in a decrease in temperature and therefore a decrease in disorder of the spoon's molecules, leading to lower entropy. Conversely, the cold water gains heat, increasing the disorder of its molecules, thus increasing its entropy.

So, the correct answer is option C - spoon decrease, water increase. This phenomenon illustrates the concept of entropy changes in a system when heat is transferred. Understanding how entropy changes in such scenarios can help in comprehending thermodynamic processes and their impact on molecular behavior.