Question

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?
○ living organisms do not obey the second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy must increase with time.
○ the complexity is actually associated with greater disorder than the level of disorder associated with the organism at early stages of development.
○ as a consequence of growing, organisms cause a greater increase in entropy in their environment than the decrease in entropy associated with their growth.
○ living organisms are able to transform energy into entropy.

Explanation:

The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system (the universe) always increases over time. Living organisms are not isolated systems. They take in energy (e.g., food) and release waste (which has higher entropy). While the entropy of the organism itself may decrease as it grows and becomes more complex, the overall entropy change (organism + environment) is positive.

• Option 1: All physical systems (including living organisms) obey the second law of thermodynamics. So this option is incorrect.
• Option 2: Complexity in living organisms (e.g., a more organized body structure) is not associated with greater disorder (higher entropy) compared to early - stage development. Early - stage organisms (like a single - celled zygote) have a different state, but the growth of an organism is a process of local entropy decrease. So this option is incorrect.
• Option 3: As organisms grow (local entropy decrease), they cause a greater increase in entropy in their environment (e.g., by metabolizing food and releasing heat and waste). This satisfies the second law (total entropy of the universe increases). This option is correct.
• Option 4: Entropy is a measure of disorder. Energy is transformed (e.g., from chemical energy in food to mechanical and heat energy), but it is not “transformed into entropy”. Entropy is a property related to the distribution of energy and matter. So this option is incorrect.

Answer:

As a consequence of growing, organisms cause a greater increase in entropy in their environment than the decrease in entropy associated with their growth.