As moisture from the air condenses on the outside of a cold glass of water, the entropy of the condensing moisture

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The problem describes a physical process: moisture from the air condenses on the outside of a cold glass. First, notice that the question as stated has no listed answer options to compare against, only the given answer field which says "decreases." We will focus on the scientific reasoning behind how the entropy of the condensing moisture changes.

During condensation, water vapor (a gas) loses energy and changes phase to liquid water. The gaseous state of water has higher randomness and more accessible microstates than the liquid state. When a molecule transitions from gas to liquid, its positional and energetic possibilities become more restricted, so the entropy associated with the moisture itself decreases. In thermodynamic terms, the cluster of water molecules in the vapor phase has greater disorder; as they form a liquid, they organize into a more ordered structure, reducing the entropy of the moisture part of the system.

It is also important to distinguish what happens to the surroundings. The condensation process releases latent heat, warming the surroundings slightly. This heat transfer increases the entropy of the environment, which can offset the local decrease in entropy of the condensing moisture when considering the total (system plus surroundings) entropy change. However, the question specifically asks about the entropy of the condensing moisture, not the entire surroundings, so the relevant change is a decrease in the moisture’s entropy.

Common misconceptions to watch out for:
- Some might think that any phase change increases entropy; this is incorrect for condensation, which decreases the moisture’s internal entropy as it becomes more ordered.
- Others might conflate temperature change with entropy change; while entropy is related to energy dispersal and molecular disorder, the key point for condensation is the reduction in the number of accessible microstates for the moisture as it becomes liquid.
- A broader view would consider the total entropy change of the universe (system plus surroundings), where the surroundings’ entropy increases due to heat release, potentially outweighing the moisture’s local decrease, but the prompt isolates the moisture’s entropy change.

Given the typical conceptual framing, the moisture that condenses indeed experiences a decrease in entropy as it transitions from a gaseous to a liquid state.

SPHY001 Practice Quiz - Unit 15 | LA055

As moisture from the air condenses on the outside of a cold glass of water, the entropy of the condensing moisture

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