Answer:
(A) proceeding without external influence once it has begun.
Explanation:
<em>A reaction that is spontaneous can be described as</em>
<em>(A) proceeding without external influence once it has begun.</em> TRUE. A spontaneous reaction has a tendency to proceed in the way it has begun. It is spontaneous when Gibbs free energy is negative.
<em>(B) releasing heat to the surroundings.</em> FALSE. If the reaction is exothermic (enthalpy negative), one still has to take into account the effect of the entropy on Gibbs free energy.
<em>(C) proceeding in both the forward and reverse directions.</em> FALSE. This just means that the reaction is reversible.
<em>(D) increasing in disorder.</em> FALSE. This means that entropy increases but it is still necessary to take into account the effect of enthalpy on Gibbs free energy.
<em>(E) having the same rate in both the forward and reverse directions.</em> FALSE. This is related to the kinetics but not the spontaneity.