Thermodynamics refers to the study of energy and energy transfer involving physical matter. These questions address the following standards:

The Science Practice Challenge Questions contain additional test questions for this section that will help you prepare for the AP exam. In a chemical reaction with energy transfer, this overhead is the lost energy expressed as heat. The money is the energy going into the repairs, the materials are what will go directly into the repair and the overhead can be analogous to money that is lost in the process. Use the survey that the students conducted previously of their neighborhoods, or town and have them determine the amount of energy (expressed as cost) it would take to repair one example, or bring it back to “order”. A Learning Objective merges required content with one or more of the seven Science Practices. The Learning Objectives listed in the Curriculum Framework provide a transparent foundation for the AP ® Biology course, an inquiry-based laboratory experience, instructional activities, and AP ® Exam questions. Information presented and the examples highlighted in the section, support concepts and Learning Objectives outlined in Big Idea 2 of the AP ® Biology Curriculum Framework. (We will explore how free energy is stored, transferred, and used in more detail when we study photosynthesis and cellular respiration.) Thus, no energy transfer is completely efficient. The second law states that every energy transfer involves some loss of energy in an unusable form, such as heat energy, resulting in a more disordered system (e.g., your bedroom over the course of a week). The first law states that the total amount of energy in the universe is constant energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transformed and transferred. What gradually happens as the week progresses? You guessed it: entropy.) All biological systems obey the laws of chemistry and physics, including the laws of thermodynamics that describe the properties and processes of energy transfer in systems. Cleaning your room requires an input of energy. On Sunday evening, you throw dirty clothes in the laundry basket, put books back on the shelves, and return dirty dishes to the kitchen. Entropy is a measure of the disorder of the system. The more ordered a system is, the lower its entropy.

Even single cells are biological systems and all systems require energy to maintain order. In studying energy, scientists use the term system to refer to the matter and its environment involved in energy transfers, such as an ecosystem. What is the difference between the first and second laws of thermodynamics?.In this section, you will explore the following questions:

Interactive thermodynamics 3.2