High School Physics Competition: Change in Entropy

[ReneG]

During a physics competition, I came across this question.

What is the change in entropy of the system when 1.25 " 10³ J of heat is added to the system that is maintained at a constant 75.0 C?

My work was
$\begin{align*}\Delta S &= \frac{Q}{T} \\ \Delta S &= \frac{1.25 \times 10^3 \, \mathrm{J}}{348 \, \mathrm{K}} \\ \Delta S &= 3.59 \,\,\mathrm{\left( J/K\right )} \end{align*}$

but I was stuck in between two answer choices

c) + 3.59 J/K
d) # 3.59 J/K

I had no idea what the hashtag meant, so I skipped it. Can someone clear this up for me?

 

[dipole]

Honestly I have no idea, but certainly the change in entropy is positive, so answer c) is correct. Maybe it's a misprint?

 

[rrnmarie]

I guess what dipole said it's right 'cause it sometimes happens

 

[ReneG]

For anyone who was wondering, the hashtag just meant "negative". Thank you dipole.

 

[Nickie]

I would like to clarify that the hashtag symbol (#) is not a valid mathematical or scientific notation. Therefore, option d) # 3.59 J/K is not a correct answer choice. The correct answer is c) + 3.59 J/K, as you have correctly calculated. The plus sign indicates that the change in entropy is positive, meaning that the system has become more disordered as heat was added. I hope this clears up any confusion.