Background: There are many examples in the chemical world of changes in entropy. Phase transitions are one obvious example. When a substance makes a transition from the liquid state to the gaseous state, the particles have many more possible arrangements, because they are no longer confined to a specified volume in which they are close to each other; gas particles can move freely throughout their container. Vaporization represents an increase in entropy. In the opposite direction, a liquid loses entropy when it freezes to a solid. Because solids have very ordered structures, there are fewer possible arrangements of particles that would result in the properties associated with a solid.

Situation: A boy is sitting at the side of the lake catching some fish when his dad begins to explain to him that the water he is fishing in is actually continuously evaporating into the air and turning into a gas. The water he is fishing in will eventually turn into the clouds that he sees in the sky.

Question: Does entropy increase or decrease as the water turns into clouds?
Answer: increase

Situation: A boy is sitting at the side of the lake catching some fish when his dad begins to explain to him that the water he is fishing in is actually continuously evaporating into the air and turning into a gas. The water he is fishing in will eventually turn into the clouds that he sees in the sky.

Question: Does entropy increase or decrease as the clouds turn into water?
Answer: decrease

Situation: Jack is making breakfast and decides he wants a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice with ice. He first pours milk into a bowl and then goes over to the freezer and puts one ice cube into a glass. Before he can finish assembling the rest of his breakfast, he gets an important phone call he has to take.

Question: Does the milk or the ice have higher entropy?
Answer: milk

Situation: Jack is making breakfast and decides he wants a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice with ice. He first pours milk into a bowl and then goes over to the freezer and puts one ice cube into a glass. Before he can finish assembling the rest of his breakfast, he gets an important phone call he has to take.

Question: Does the milk or the ice have lower entropy?
Answer: ice

Situation: Elaine is getting ready for a dinner party she is having later. She needs to make some pasta as well as freeze some water. She will be using a red bowl and a blue bowl for these tasks. In order to make the pasta, she first needs to bring the blue bowl of water to a boil. While she is waiting for that water to boil she pours some water into the red bowl and places it into the freezer. She then grabs a newspaper and waits until she can continue her preparations.

Question: The water in which color bowl is gaining entropy?
Answer: blue

Situation: Elaine is getting ready for a dinner party she is having later. She needs to make some pasta as well as freeze some water. She will be using a red bowl and a blue bowl for these tasks. In order to make the pasta, she first needs to bring the blue bowl of water to a boil. While she is waiting for that water to boil she pours some water into the red bowl and places it into the freezer. She then grabs a newspaper and waits until she can continue her preparations.

Question: The water in which color bowl is losing entropy?
Answer: red