General ---------Biology----------------------------------------------------- ------------------Online-----------------------------------wilcox@sunline.net Ch. 6  Metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, nucleic acids

Determine which collection of atoms and molecules in the table below is more organized or ordered?  Place an "X" behind the most ordered form of matter (atoms and molecules).

matter in the atmosphere, or........	--	........matter in a tree's tissue	--
matter in the water	---	matter in a fish	---
matter in a live fish	-	matter in a dead fish	-
matter in the soil	-	matter in our bodies	-
a stack of toy blocks	-	blocks scattered on the floor	-
a well maintained house	-	one abandoned for 300 yrs.	-
gasoline in the cars tank	-	gas in the cars exhaust	-

Is order more associated with living or non living systems? _______________.
What happens to order if you do not maintain it; what will happen to a stack of cards?________
What will happen to a house over 500 years, if it is not maintained?______________________.

Which is most likely:
a pile of cards on the floor spontaneously assembles into a ordered "house of cards," or
a "house of cards" spontaneously disassembles into a pile of cards on the floor?

Is the natural tendency of matter to become ordered or disordered?______________________.
Do healthy, growing and living chemical reactions increase order or decrease order, when compared to dead or nonliving chemical reactions? ____________.

Entropy is a measure of disorder in a system: a cell, a room, a planet, a universe, etc. 
Example:  a disordered pile of cards on the floor has more entropy than a house of cards.
When a cell dies, does the entropy (disorder) of the cell's system increase or decrease? _______.
When gasoline sits in your tank, is the entropy increased, decreased, or does it more or less stay the same? __________________________.
When gasoline molecules are burned in your car, is the entropy of the molecules increased or decreased? _______________.
When the car's gasoline is burned, in the previous figure, how much of the energy is converted into mechanical motion? _________________ How much is lost as random kinetic energy in the atmosphere? ________ If you could follow the heat that is given off, where would it wind up? _____________________________________.   answers 

Entropy like a universal tax.  When are you taxed on your money?

a.  only when you receive it, or spend it
b.  only when you hold it in your pocket or bank account