This examination consists of twenty questions. If you are uncertain about your answer to any questions, leave them while you think and answer other questions, but be sure to return to unanswered questions and do the best job you can within the available time. Please do not exceed the space provided for the short answer and essay questions, and write legibly, putting your name at the top of each page. The second law of thermodynamics says that in any isolated system things move from a less probable to a more probable state. Three sentences or less.
Wood consists largely of cellulose, a macromolecule which is a highly improbable assembly of atoms.
Briefly explain why one has to worry about keeping both the temperature and the pH of water within appropriate fairly narrow ranges in order to assure the health of fish in a home aquarium . Fish, like all living organisms, depend on protein enzymes to catalyze essential underlying chemical reactions. Imagine a box with a partition that allows particles to move from one side to the other, as discussed in class. Briefly compare what will happen if one starts with lots of particles on one side of the box and none on the other with what will happen if one starts with the same number of particles on both sides, explaining what accounts for both the similarities and the differences in the two cases. This state represents no change from the initial state in the second case, since average particle movement in both directions is already equal.