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Multiple Choice

According to the second law, what happens to the universe's entropy during energy transfers in metabolism?

The idea being tested is that energy transfers in metabolism are not perfectly efficient, so the total disorder of the universe tends to increase. In metabolism, cells move energy from nutrients into work and into heat and waste products. That energy dissipation as heat raises the randomness of the surroundings, increasing the number of possible microstates. Although cells can become more ordered locally by building complex molecules, this local order is more than offset by the greater increase in disorder outside the cell. So the overall entropy of the universe increases during metabolic energy transfers.

The idea being tested is that energy transfers in metabolism are not perfectly efficient, so the total disorder of the universe tends to increase. In metabolism, cells move energy from nutrients into work and into heat and waste products. That energy dissipation as heat raises the randomness of the surroundings, increasing the number of possible microstates. Although cells can become more ordered locally by building complex molecules, this local order is more than offset by the greater increase in disorder outside the cell. So the overall entropy of the universe increases during metabolic energy transfers.