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Chemistry · Ch 6 — Thermodynamics

Isolated System

6.1.2.3

Isolated System

Isolated System

An isolated system can exchange neither matter nor energy with its surroundings.

This is the most restrictive type. The textbook gives the example of reactants inside a thermos flask (a Dewar flask) or any closed, insulated vessel. The walls are both sealed (no matter exchange) and made of a non-conducting material (no heat exchange). In an ideal isolated system, the total energy of the system remains constant. …