Question

Which has more entropy, a protein's folded or unfolded state?

a) Folded state
b) Unfolded state
c) Both states have equal entropy
d) Entropy cannot be determined for proteins

Answer 1

The unfolded state of a protein has more entropy due to the greater randomness and disorder compared to the organized and stable folded state.

Step-by-step explanation:

The state of a protein that has more entropy is its unfolded state. Entropy is a measure of disorder in a system, and when proteins are unfolded, there is greater randomness and disorder in their structure, leading to higher entropy. On the other hand, when proteins are folded into their native structure, they have a lower level of entropy because they are in a more organized state, allowing specific biological functions. Proteins in their folded state have minimized their accessible conformations to achieve the stable structure, whereas the unfolded state has a multitude of possible conformations, indicating greater entropy.