Question

For a block of ice on a plate, second law of thermodynamics says that____

(a) The plate will get hotter

(b) Ice will get cooler

(c) Cannot give conclusive direction

(d) Ice will melt

The question was posed to me in an internship interview.

I'd like to ask this question from A Brief Review of Thermodynamics topic in portion Compressible Flow – Preliminary Aspects of Aerodynamics

Answer 1

The correct choice is (d) Ice will melt

Explanation: The second law of thermodynamics states which direction the process will take place, unlike the first law which just tells whether the process is possible or not. From entropy considerations, ice will melt in this case. This is visible from real life observation as well. Total entropy has to increase or stay the same.