Which statement describes spontaneous processes?
proceed without continuous external influence and have an overall negative free energy change
proceed without continuous external influence and have an overall positive free energy change
proceed with continuous external influence and have an overall negative free energy change
proceed with continuous external influence and have an overall positive free energy change

Option (a) is the correct answer.

Explanation:

As spontaneous process is a process that occurs on its own. So, it can be endothermic or exothermic in nature.

For example, churning of milk is a spontaneous process and the milk does not require any external force to convert itself into curd.

Free energy change for a spontaneous process is negative in nature. This also means that value of is negative.

Thus, we can conclude that the statement proceed without continuous external influence and have an overall negative free energy change proceed without continuous external influence and have an overall negative free energy change.