What is Entropy

Question

I am confused with what is degree of randomness and how it is related to entropy

Answer 1

Degree of randomness is a simplified way of looking at entropy. In this simplistic approach, we look at the "state" of matter and consider a gas to be more "random" than a liquid, which is more "random" than a solid. So, a gas would have greater entropy than a liquid, and a liquid would have greater entropy than a solid. If you had a reaction like N₂ + 3H₂ ==> 2NH₃, we could say that the entropy DECREASED because you went from more randomness (4 moles of gas) to less randomness (2 moles of gas). I'm sure someone else can provide a better, more in depth explanation. But this is the simple way of looking at randomness and entropy.