The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that entropy increases for spontaneous p

Question

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that entropy increases for spontaneous processes and that an increase in entropy is associated with transitions from ordered to disordered states. Living organisms, even the simplest bacteria growing in cultures, appear to violate the Second Law, because they grow and proliferate spontaneously. They convert simple chemical substances into the highly organized structure of their descendants. Write a critical evaluation of the proposition that living organisms contradict the Second Law. 2. The shell of marine organisms contains CaCO_3 largely in the crystalline form known as calcite. There is a second crystalline form of CaCO_3 known as aragonite. a) Based on the thermodynamic and physical properties given below for these two crystalline forms, would you expect calcite in nature to convert spontaneously to aragonite given sufficient time? Justify your answer. b) Will increasing the temperature favor the conversion? Explain.

Explanation / Answer

CaCO3(calcite) ------ CaCO3(aragonite)

a) Delta G = Delta(G(argaonite)) - DeltaG(calcite)

=> -1127.71 + 1128.76

=> 1.05 KJ/mol

Since Delta G is positive, hence the reaction will not be spontaneous

b) No, increasing the temperature will not favor the reaction

Since entropy of the reaction = 88.70 - 92.88 = -4.18 J/K, which is negative, hence increasing the temperature would not favor the reaction

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