Living organisms increase in complexity as they grow, resulting in a decrease in the entropy of an organism. How does this relate to the second law of thermodynamics?
A) Living organisms do not obey the second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy must increase with time.
B) Living organisms do not follow the laws of thermodynamics.
C) As a consequence of growing, organisms cause a greater increase in entropy in their environment than the decrease in entropy associated with their growth.
D) Living organisms are able to transform energy into entropy.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy in a closed system will tend to increase over time. However, living organisms are not closed systems and are able to decrease their own entropy as they grow and become more complex. This appears to violate the second law, but it is balanced by the increase in entropy that is caused by the organism's interaction with its environment. Therefore, the overall entropy of the organism plus its environment increases, which is consistent with the second law.

Living Organisms Increase in Complexity as They Grow, Resulting in a Decrease