Spontaneity, Entropy & 2nd Law in Thermodynamics

These flashcards cover key concepts related to spontaneity, entropy, and the second law of thermodynamics based on the lecture notes.

Spontaneous Process

A process that occurs without ongoing outside intervention.

Nonspontaneous Process

A process that requires energy input to occur.

Entropy (S)

A thermodynamic function that increases with the number of energetically equivalent ways to arrange the components of a system.

Microstate

The exact internal energy distribution among the particles at any one instant.

Macrostate

The state defined by a given set of measurable conditions such as Pressure (P), Volume (V), and Temperature (T).

Thermodynamically Favorable Reaction

A reaction in which the system has less potential energy after the reaction than before.

Exothermic Process

A spontaneous process that releases energy from the system.

Endothermic Process

A spontaneous process that absorbs energy into the system.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

States that for any spontaneous process, the entropy of the universe increases.

Kinetics vs Thermodynamics

Kinetics is about the rate of a reaction while thermodynamics is about stability of states.

Boltzmann Constant (kb)

A constant used to relate entropy to the number of microstates, approximately equal to 1.38 imes 10^{-23} J/K.

Change in Entropy (ΔS)

The difference between the final and initial entropy of a system, expressed as ΔS = ΔS_{final} - ΔS_{initial}.

Spontaneity and Energy

Spontaneous processes typically involve a transition from higher potential energy to lower potential energy.

Calculating Entropy

Entropy can be calculated using the formula S = kb imes ext{ln}(W), where W is the number of possible microstates.