What is the effect of increased disorder when a crystal lattice dissolves in water?

The dissolution of a crystal lattice in water typically results in an increase in disorder, which directly affects the entropy of the system. When a solid lattice dissolves, the structured arrangement of ions or molecules in the crystal breaks apart as they disperse in the solvent (water), leading to a more disordered state. This increase in disorder corresponds to a positive change in entropy, denoted as ΔS > 0.

In thermodynamics, entropy is a measure of the randomness or disorder within a system. For dissolution processes, when a solute goes from a solid to a dissolved state, the number of microstates—ways to arrange the components of the system—increases significantly, contributing to a greater overall entropy.

Thus, the correct answer illustrates the thermodynamic principle that the dissolution of a crystal lattice in water results in a greater number of available states for the particles, subsequently leading to a positive ΔS value. This is a key factor in driving the spontaneity of the dissolution process, as systems tend to favor states of higher entropy.