In order to heat a large block of iron, you place a smaller, hot block of iron next to it. Initially, the large block of Fe is at room temperature (295 K) and the small block of Fe is at 700 K. Assume that the system (both blocks) is in thermal isolation from the surroundings. As you have seen, the entropy of a system is a function of the number of ways there is to arrange all of the energy in that system. Consider the following situations: i) All of the thermal energy is found in the large Fe block.
ii) All of the thermal energy is found in the small Fe block
iii) There is an equal amount of thermal energy in the large Fe block as there is in the small Fe block.
iv) The average energy per Fe atom in the large block is equal to the average energy per Fe atom in the small block.
(a) Discuss with your group: which situation is associated with the largest number of ways to arrange the total energy in the system? Which is associated with the fewest number of ways to arrange the energy? Are any of these situations associated with the same number of ways to arrange the energy? This answer has not been graded yet.
(b) Would any of the above situations be a violation of the Energy Principle? Why or why not? This answer has not been graded yet.
(c) If you leave the two blocks in contact until the system reaches thermal equilibrium, what can be said about about the system?