Abstract
Scientific explanations for the cause of spontaneous processes can be understood from the energy perspective. The second law of thermodynamics shows that all real spontaneous processes lead to an increase in the total entropy of the universe. Entropy is closely related to energy, though the two concepts are distinct. In K-12 science education, students should gain familiarity with explanations for the cause of spontaneous processes. This includes a qualitative understanding of the second law of thermodynamics and entropy, as well as an understanding of the relationship between entropy and energy. Here, we review the energy dispersal metaphor for entropy and the energy spreading metaphor for entropy change, and describe how these metaphors can provide students with a scientific understanding of spontaneous processes from the energy perspective. We also discuss advantages of using this metaphor over others for teaching and learning about entropy in K-12 science education, such as the metaphor’s compliance with the features of entropy, the avoidance of common misconceptions when using the metaphor, the metaphor’s accessibility to students at a young age, and the metaphor’s amenability to updating for increasingly sophisticated understandings of entropy. We also discuss why the commonly used disorder metaphor for entropy should be avoided. Finally, we propose a potential K-12 learning progression for understanding spontaneous processes from the energy perspective.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1990). Science for all Americans. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from, http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/chap4.htm#26
American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks for science literacy. New York: Oxford University Press. Revised web version (2009) http://www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/online/index.php
Atkins, P. W. (2006). Atkins’ physical chemistry. New York: Oxford University Press.
Bindel, T. H. (2004). Teaching entropy analysis in the first-year high school course and beyond. Journal of Chemical Education, 81, 1585–1594.
Boo, H. K. (1998). Students’ understandings of chemical bonds and the energetics of chemical reactions. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35, 569–581.
Carson, J., & Watson, E. M. (2002). Undergraduate students’ understandings of entropy and Gibbs free energy. University Chemistry Education, 6, 4–12.
Chen, S., Liu, Z., Bao, S., & Zheng, C. (2010). Natural convection and entropy generation in a vertically concentric annular space. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 49, 2439–2452.
Cooper, M. M., Klymkowsky, M. W., & Becker, N. M. (2014). Energy in chemical systems: An integrated approach. In B. Chen, A. Eisenkraft, D. Fortus, J. Krajcik, K. Neumann, J. Nordine, & A. Scheff (Eds.), Teaching and learning of energy in K – 12 education (pp. 301–316). New York: Springer.
Dincer, I., & Cengel, Y. A. (2001). Energy, entropy and exergy concepts and their roles in thermal engineering. Entropy, 3, 116–149.
Donaldson, S. (2011). Entropy is not disorder. Retrieved from http://www.science20.com/train_thought/blog/entropy_not_disorder-75081
Duit, R. (1991). On the role of analogies and metaphors in learning science. Science Education, 75, 649–672.
Gao, P. L., & Wang, M. Z. (2007). Huaxue fanying yuanli [Principles of chemical reactions]. Jinan: Shandong Science and Technology Press.
Gary, R. K. (2004). The concentration dependence of the ∆S term in the Gibbs free energy function: Application to reversible reactions in biochemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 81, 1599–1604.
Glynn, S. M., & Takahashi, T. (1998). Learning from analogy-enhanced science text. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35, 1129–1149.
Hanson, R. M., & Michalek, B. (2006). Give them money: The Boltzmann game, a classroom or laboratory activity modeling entropy changes and the distribution of energy in chemical systems. Journal of Chemical Education, 83, 581–588.
Kozliak, E. I., & Lambert, F. L. (2005). “Order-to-disorder” for entropy change? Consider the numbers! The Chemical Educator, 10, 24–25.
Kozliak, E. I., & Lambert, F. L. (2008). Residual entropy, the third law and latent heat. Entropy, 10, 274–284.
Lambert, F. L. (1999). Shuffled cards, messy desks, and disorderly dorm rooms – Examples of entropy increase? Nonsense! Journal of Chemical Education, 76, 1385–1387.
Lambert, F. L. (2002a). Disorder—A cracked crutch for supporting entropy discussions. Journal of Chemical Education, 79, 187–192. Revised web version http://www.entropysite.com/cracked_crutch.html
Lambert, F. L. (2002b). Entropy is simple, qualitatively. Journal of Chemical Education, 79, 1241–1246. Revised web version http://entropysite.oxy.edu/entropy_is_simple/index.html
Lambert, F. L. (2005). Teaching entropy is simple—If you discard “disorder”. Retrieved from, http://entropysite.oxy.edu/teaching_entropy.html
Lambert, F. L. (2006a). The second law of thermodynamics. Retrieved from, http://entropysite.oxy.edu/wiki_secondlaw.html
Lambert, F. L. (2006b). A modern view of entropy. Khymia, The Bulgarian Journal of Chemistry, 15, 13–21.
Lambert, F. L. (2007). Configurational entropy revisited. Journal of Chemical Education, 84, 1548–1550.
Lambert, F. L. (2011). Entropy in general chemistry. Retrieved from, http://entropysite.oxy.edu/wiki_entropy.html
Lambert, F. L., & Leff, H. S. (2009). The correlation of standard entropy with enthalpy supplied from 0 to 298.15 K. Journal of Chemical Education, 86(1), 94–98.
Leff, H. S. (1996). Thermodynamic entropy: The spreading and sharing of energy. American Journal of Physics, 64, 1261–1271.
Leff, H. S. (2007). Entropy, its language and interpretation. Foundations of Physics, 37, 1744–1766.
Leff, H. S. (2012a). Removing the mystery of entropy and thermodynamics – Part I. The Physics Teacher, 50(1), 28–31. Retrieved from, http://www.csupomona.edu/~hsleff/selpubs.html
Leff, H. S. (2012b). Removing the mystery of entropy and thermodynamics – Part II. The Physics Teacher, 50, 87–90. Retrieved from, http://www.csupomona.edu/~hsleff/selpubs.html
Leff, H. S. (2012c). Removing the mystery of entropy and thermodynamics – Part III. The Physics Teacher, 50, 170–172. Retrieved from, http://www.csupomona.edu/~hsleff/selpubs.html
Leff, H. S. (2012d). Removing the mystery of entropy and thermodynamics – Part IV. The Physics Teacher, 50, 215–217. Retrieved from, http://www.csupomona.edu/~hsleff/selpubs.html
Leff, H. S. (2012e). Removing the mystery of entropy and thermodynamics – Part V. The Physics Teacher, 50, 274–276. Retrieved from, http://www.csupomona.edu/~hsleff/selpubs.html
National Academy of Sciences. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: The National Academy Press. Retrieved from, http://www.nap.edu/catalog/4962.html
National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from, http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165
Reece, J. B., Urry, L., Cain, M., Wasserman, S., Minorsky, P., & Jackson, R. (2011). Campbell biology (9th ed.; International ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education.
Song, X. Q., & He, S. H. (2004). Huaxue fanying yuanli [Principles of chemical reactions]. Beijing: People’s Education Press.
Sözbilir, M., & Bennett, J. M. (2007). A study of Turkish chemistry undergraduates’ understanding of entropy. Journal of Chemical Education, 84, 1204–1208.
Styer, D. F. (2000). Insight into entropy. American Journal of Physics, 68, 1090–1096.
Wang, Z. H. (2007). Huaxue fanying yuanli [Principles of chemical reactions]. Hangzhou: Jiangsu Education Publishing House.
Wang, L., Wang, W., & Wei, R. (2014). What knowledge and ability should high school students have for understanding energy in chemical reactions? An analysis of chemistry curriculum standards in seven countries and regions. In B. Chen, A. Eisenkraft, D. Fortus, J. Krajcik, K. Neumann, J. Nordine, & A. Scheff (Eds.), Teaching and learning of energy in K – 12 education (pp. 87–102). New York: Springer.
Wilbraham, A., Staley, D., Matta, M., & Waterman, E. (2012). Pearson chemistry. Boston: Pearson Education.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Jeff Nordine, Knut Neumann, Tobin Roger, and Hui Jin for their detailed reviews of the drafts of this chapter and their brilliant suggestions. Our thanks go to Frank L. Lambert for his correspondence discussing entropy with us. Thanks to Chi-Yan Tsui for his careful edit on the paper. The Chicago Transformation Teacher Institutes (NSF DRL 0928669) provided funding and support. We are also grateful to many other friends for kindly offering us their help.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wei, R., Reed, W., Hu, J., Xu, C. (2014). Energy Spreading or Disorder? Understanding Entropy from the Perspective of Energy. In: Chen, R., et al. Teaching and Learning of Energy in K – 12 Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05017-1_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05017-1_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-05016-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05017-1
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)