Membrane proteins float like islands in a sea of lipid. ATPases use energy from hydrolysis of ATP to push ions or molecules from one side to the other and are the only way that cells can move them against a concentration gradient. Some molecules can be carried inside membrane vesicles which fuse with a cell membrane and release their contents on the other side. The entropy component deals with the randomness or disorder of a system. Plants expend energy to maintain their highly organized structure at the molecular, cellular and organismal levels.
Oxidation involves the loss of an electron, thereby releasing energy.
The oxidation of a mole of glucose releases 686 kilocalories of free energy. Reduction involves the gain of an electron, thereby storing energy. The reduction of a mole of glucose stores 686 kilocalories of free energy. Glycolysis and respiration are oxidation-reduction reactions. Yes, any accumulation of a molecule on one side of a membrane is usually driven by a membrane ATPase.