Question

What is the second law of thermodynamics? Describe how this relates to phospholipids forming membrane-like structures in an aqueous environment.

Answer 1

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the state of entropy of the entire universe, as an isolated system, will always increase over time.

The self-assembly properties of phospholipids in an aqueous environment that causes membrane formation. The hydrophobic effect drives this self assembly process where the polar water molecules are excluded to bring together nonpolar chains. The hydrophobic effect is mostly an entropic effect because the water molecules that would surround the hydrocarbons could do so only by decreasing the entropy of the water shell structure (more ordered). The self aggregation of hydrocarbons frees water molecules and gives the water structure a higher entropy, which, according to the second law of thermodynamics, indicates the direction of a spontaneous process.