Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store
seo-qna
SearchIcon
banner

What is the difference between an open system and closed system?

Answer
VerifiedVerified
462.3k+ views
Hint: Thermodynamics is a branch of chemistry which deals with the heat, work and temperature and their relation with energy, radiation and physical properties of matter where matter can be defined as the substance which has some mass and occupies space.

Complete answer:
System generally consists of molecules which are reacting and rest of the universe i.e. other than the system is known as surroundings. System may be many types. The main types are open and closed systems.
If matter will not be able to transfer through the boundary then this type of system is known as a closed system. However in a closed system energy can be exchanged with the surroundings. When a reaction happens then the system can expand or can be able to transfer energy to the surrounding if it is at a lower temperature. However, in an open system the matter and energy both can transfer through the boundary between the system and the surrounding. Since it is open therefore it continuously interacts with the surrounding.
Hence we can say that in an open system matter and energy both can transfer but in a closed system matter cannot be transferred.

Note:
Our body is an example of an open system which can be explained as it is hard to control the energy flow in and out of an open system and the energy balance is also difficult in this case. So we can say that the mass of the system is not necessarily constant.