Energy and matter equivalence

[casas1010]

The question was : describe the first law of thermodynamics. I said matter can't be created or destroyed. I got marked wrong, my argument will be that the laws of thermodynamics can be written in different ways. Einstein famous equation relates matter and energy. There is also the matter-energy equivalent theory. Is this a valid argument? If so what else can I say?

 

[ModusPwnd]

Matter is not the same as mass. Matter is ill-defined in science and is a term that shouldn't really be used. Matter is not conserved.

 

[Vagn]

The question was : describe the first law of thermodynamics. I said matter can't be created or destroyed. I got marked wrong, my argument will be that the laws of thermodynamics can be written in different ways. Einstein famous equation relates matter and energy. There is also the matter-energy equivalent theory. Is this a valid argument? If so what else can I say?

You can argue that as much as you like, but it's not a statement of the first law of thermodynamics. The first law is purely relates the change in internal energy to the heat flow into/out of the system and the work done/by the system.

 

[Dale]

The question was : describe the first law of thermodynamics. I said matter can't be created or destroyed. I got marked wrong, my argument will be that the laws of thermodynamics can be written in different ways.

You were correctly marked wrong. You should not argue, you should learn from your mistake and do better next time. There are times when it is good to argue a grade, but this is not one of them.