Prepare for the Foundations of Biology Exam 1. Dive into key biological concepts with multiple choice questions, hints, and explanations. Ace the exam with our efficient study methods!

Multiple Choice

What term describes energy that cannot be used to do work?

Entropy describes energy that cannot be used to do work. It measures how energy becomes dispersed and more disordered; as energy spreads out, less of it remains available to drive processes. The energy that can still do work under the current conditions is captured by free energy, while enthalpy is the total energy content and kinetic energy is energy of motion. So entropy is the term that specifically refers to unusable, dispersed energy.

Entropy describes energy that cannot be used to do work. It measures how energy becomes dispersed and more disordered; as energy spreads out, less of it remains available to drive processes. The energy that can still do work under the current conditions is captured by free energy, while enthalpy is the total energy content and kinetic energy is energy of motion. So entropy is the term that specifically refers to unusable, dispersed energy.