Consider a system at equilibrium, with an overall entropy (S) equal to 4.388 x 1
ID: 1405057 • Letter: C
Question
Consider a system at equilibrium, with an overall entropy (S) equal to 4.388 x 10-23 J / K. a. How many microstates exist in the system if the energy level associated with each microstate is the same as all other microstates? (i.e. how many ways can you arrange the molecules of the system if all arrangements have the same energy?) b. If the equilibrium system is partitioned into equally sized boxes and each box contains a single molecule, approximately how many individual molecules are there in the system?
Explanation / Answer
entropy as proportional to the natural log of the number of microstates,
S=kln
k is Boltzmann constant is number of micro states
ln = S/k = 4.388 x 10-23 J / K/1.3806488 × 10-23 m2 kg s-2 K-1
ln=3.178
= 24