Living Organisms Increase in Complexity as They Grow, Resulting in a Decrease

question 37

Multiple Choice

Living organisms increase in complexity as they grow, resulting in a decrease in the entropy of an organism. How does this relate to the second law of thermodynamics?

• A) Living organisms do not obey the second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy must increase with time.
• B) Life obeys the second law of thermodynamics because the decrease in entropy as the organism grows is exactly balanced by an increase in the entropy of the universe.
• C) Living organisms do not follow the laws of thermodynamics.
• D) As a consequence of growing, organisms cause a greater increase in entropy in their environment than the decrease in entropy associated with their growth.
• E) Living organisms are able to transform energy into entropy.

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