Sealed vs Insulated

[Gladys Nava 1K]

Can someone explain what the difference is between a system being sealed and insulated?

[Jay Solanki 3A]

Sealed (known as closed) is considered a system in which mass cannot be transferred out of a system, but energy can. An insulated (isolated) system features no heat or energy transfer, and deltaU of an isolated system is always 0. Hope this helps!

[FrancescaHawkins2H]

A sealed system does not allow for the transfer of mass but does allow for the transfer of heat. An example of this would be a sealed tupperware. No food can leave or enter, but the food will cool down. On the other hand, an insulated system does not allow for the transfer of either. Insulated systems are also more theoretical than realistic, but a good example that someone brought up in another post is a sealed thermos, which holds in both the contents and the heat, without letting anything enter either.

[Lesley Kim 1K]

I believe that sealed refers more to the preservation of a closed environment in terms of fixed concentrations of reactants and space for the reaction to take place. However, insulated is more specific as it refers to the preservation of heat and energy within a system.