Coffee cup, bomb calorimeter: Open, closed, or isolated?

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
Sign up Log in
3 replies · 7K views
gauss44
Messages
48
Reaction score
0
Is a coffee cup usually considered to be a closed system? Why or why not? Does it matter that steam or hot coffee may be evaporating? (I think the steam is usually considered to be an insignificant amount of matter, allowing classification to be a closed system, but am unsure.)

Is a bomb calorimeter an isolated system? Why or why not? Is the water inside of a bomb calorimeter generally considered to be part of the "surroundings?" (I think not, just checking.)

(I tried looking this up online and cannot find any definitive answer or actual examples that were adequately helpful.)
 

Discussion

Physics news on Phys.org
This has the sound of homework: state the definitions/properties of open, closed, and isolated systems; apply those definitions/properties to the systems you've described.
 
gauss44 said:
I guess you could project that onto any question in this forum. I sense a troll at work.
It's a very common pre-lab quiz question intended to determine whether you know the definitions of open, closed, and isolated systems.

If you don't know the definitions/properties/differences of open, close, and isolated systems, this turns into an endless game of "Well if that's "blank," then what's this?"

State them, apply them to each, and I'll be more than happy to tell you whether you've done so correctly, or explain to you where you've done so incorrectly, and what is incorrect.