True or False: Cells maintain order, which results in disorder in the environment.

The statement is actually true because cells maintain order internally by synthesizing complex molecules and organizing their components, which is a process that requires energy. However, this order does lead to an increase in entropy or disorder in the environment, in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics.

When energy is used to build cellular structures, the surrounding environment experiences a net increase in disorder due to the dissipation of energy as heat and the release of waste products. This dynamic illustrates the principle that while systems can create order locally (within the cell), they contribute to increased disorder overall in the universe. Therefore, the understanding that cells maintain order while simultaneously causing disorder in their environment is crucial in biochemistry and thermodynamics.

The other choices do not frame the relationship between cellular order and environmental disorder accurately in relation to the laws of thermodynamics, which apply universally across living organisms, whether unicellular or multicellular. Consequently, the best answer is that the statement is indeed true, as cells do maintain internal order at the expense of increasing disorder outside of themselves.