BIOB34H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Basal Metabolic Rate, Allometry, Chemical Energy
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As entropy increases there will be more useful energy to doâworkâ. True or false?
False. As entropy increases, there will generally be less usefulenergy to do work. We can think of entropy as usually being presentin the form of heat energy. Imagine a car motor, which attempts toturn chemical potential energy into kinetic energy (movement). Lessefficient motors will get hotter for the same amount of fuelconsumed. When you drive a car you hope that most of the fuelenergy is converted into kinetic energy and not lost as heat(entropy). The hotter the car (and thus the more entropy) the lessefficient the ability to do âworkâ (the moving of the vehicle). |
True. As entropy increases, there will generally be more usefulenergy to do work. We can think of entropy as usually being presentin the form of heat energy. In most biological and mechanicalsystems it is heat energy which is captured to do useful 'work'.Heat energy, the random movement of molecules, and increases inentropy are central to doing useful work. |
Biological systems sometimes appear on the surface to break theSecond Law of Thermodynamics â by seemingly increasing the order inthe overall system. They donât. Why?
a. Earth (and living things on it) are not a closed system. Thesun's constant input of energy in the form of photons is harnessedby living things to create internal order within themselves. Butwithout such a constant input of energy, most biological systems onearth would break down. |
b. The Second Law tells us that no natural process can occurunless it is also associated with an increase in the entropy of theuniverse. A living organism (such as an animal or plant) brings inmatter and energy from its environment and uses this to creategreater order within its body: the processes of life. But it isimportant to keep in mind that all animals and plants are also partof a larger system of the environment around them. While creating asmall âpocketâ of order, the processes of life (metabolism,movement, etc..) releases heat into the environment â thusincreasing the entropy of the universe and following the2nd law. |
c. Living things, by harnessing energy to create order (withinand around themselves) actually create a paradox in questionssurrounding the first and second laws of thermodynamics andseemingly violate many previously held assumptions. |
d. Both a and b above are correct. |
When plants capture energy in the photons of sunlight andconvert that energy into the chemical bonds of organic molecules,are they creating new energy?
No, the energy is being transferred from one form into another.But no new energy is being created. |
No, the overall total energy is decreasing over time. |
Yes, by capturing photons, the plants are creating newenergy. |
Yes, by capturing photons, the plants are creating new energy -of a different wavelength. |
Tidal energy Coal Nuclear energy |
maximum sustainableyield equilibrium theory sustainabilityfactor |
national parks national wildliferefuges resource managementoversight |
the population growth incities the spread of cities intonew areas the sustainabledevelopment of a city |
storing and moving solarenergy constructing solar energyfacilities in high-sunlight areas eliminating thebi-products of solar energy collection |
it causes high levels ofpollution the technology is notvery reliable installation of thetechnology cannot be performed by laymen |
industrialization urbanization urban expansion |
Using batteries forgeneration of electricity Adjusting human behaviorby taking steps to reduce energy consumption Eliminating competingspecies in order to reduce the planetary load |
charcoal on the surfaceof the soil soil chemistry burn marks in treerings |
the source of theelectricity used for electrolysis the process used toextract the water governmental incentivesfor research |
Hydro Biomass Wind |
hydro-electricpower coal biomass energy |
Base Understory Subcanopy |
The National ParksAct The Wilderness Act The Antiquities Act |
water and heat oxygen and methane spent radioactive fuelcells |
physical reaction chemical reaction incineration |
lower to minimizeturbulence and maximize wind speed higher to minimize thenumber of birds that interfere with blade turning lower to increase heatconvection off the ground |
has been widely used inNASA's spaceflight programs would contributesignificantly to current pollution problems would create largeproblems with waste product disposal |
interferes with radioreception in nearby areas can pollute the air causes temperatures tofluctuate |
they have too much landunder federal control they need money from thesale of the land protected by land set-asides they are not concernedwith the environment |