What Is Entropy in Energy? — Reading Comprehension

Grades

Standards

MS-PS3
HS-PS3
RI.6.3
RI.7.1

About This Reader

This passage introduces the concept of entropy in the context of energy, aligning with NGSS standard MS-PS3-4. It explains entropy as a measure of disorder and how energy naturally moves from organized states to less organized ones. Through relatable examples—like a hot cup of tea cooling in a room or a clean room becoming messy—the text illustrates how entropy increases over time. Students learn how entropy limits energy reuse, affects machines, and explains natural energy spread. The passage supports middle school reading comprehension, builds science vocabulary, and connects real-world phenomena to scientific laws like the second law of thermodynamics. Designed for clarity and accessibility, this passage is ideal for classrooms working to integrate NGSS physical science concepts with Common Core reading and literacy standards. It helps students develop a deeper understanding of how energy systems work and why no machine can be perfectly efficient.

CONTENT PREVIEW

Entropy is a big word, but the idea behind it is pretty simple. It helps us understand how energy moves and changes. In science, entropy is a measure of disorder or randomness in a system.

Let’s say you have a hot cup of tea in a cool room. Over time, the tea cools down. Why? The heat from the tea spreads out into the room. The energy becomes more spread out and less useful. That spreading out of energy is what we call increasing entropy.

Entropy tells us that energy always moves from a more organized state to a less organized one. This is part of the second law of thermodynamics. According to this law, energy changes are not 100% efficient. Some energy is always lost as heat, and this adds to the disorder in the system.

Imagine your room is clean in the morning. By the end of the day, it’s messy. That’s kind of like entropy—things naturally move from order to disorder unless we put in work to stop it. In energy systems, we need to keep adding energy to stay organized.

Entropy is important in many areas of science. It helps explain why machines get warm when they run, why stars burn out over time, and why it’s hard to make a machine that runs forever without stopping.

So, while entropy might sound confusing, it’s just a way to understand how energy becomes more spread out over time—and why we can’t reuse the same energy forever.

Fun Fact:Did you know that your body follows the rules of entropy too? Every time you eat food, your body uses the energy, but some of it is always lost as heat—just like a machine! That’s why you stay warm, even when it’s cold outside.

What is the main idea of the passage?

How machines work foreverWhy hot tea tastes better than cold teaEntropy explains how energy becomes less useful over timeThe steps for cleaning a messy room

What does entropy measure?

The heat of an objectThe amount of work doneThe disorder or randomness in a systemThe size of a system

What happens to the heat from a hot cup of tea in a cool room?

It gets hotterIt disappearsIt spreads into the roomIt freezes

What law of science is entropy a part of?

Newton’s first lawThe second law of thermodynamicsThe law of gravityThe theory of relativity

According to the passage, what is an example of entropy in daily life?

A cup of coffee staying warm all dayA clean room getting messy over timeA ball rolling uphill by itselfA frozen lake turning into a mountain

Why can’t we reuse the same energy forever?

Because energy disappearsBecause entropy increases and energy becomes less usefulBecause energy freezesBecause machines stop working

What happens to machines when they run?

They create more energyThey get colderThey lose energy as heatThey clean themselves

In the passage, why is entropy important?

It keeps things organizedIt explains how energy systems stay coldIt helps us understand how energy changes and spreadsIt tells us how fast objects move