Purpose of using an open, closed, or isolated system

[Olivia D 3B]

I understand the differences between the 3 types of thermodynamic systems, however, I was wondering how to know when to use each one. When is it appropriate to use an open system as opposed to a closed or isolated system?

[Alexis Shen 2G]

I think it depends on what you're trying to measure. This is because in a closed system, you can measure the change in the internal system. But with a open system, it can be changed during the experiment and you can see how the internal reacts with the surroundings.

[Brynn 2F]

For our purposes I think it will be most important to be able to identify the differences between the systems, and how that affects how the system can interact with it's surroundings. For example, being able to identify that a bomb calorimeter is an isolated system because it's in an insulated container -- so there can be no exchange of energy or matter with the surroundings.

[Mandy Mg 2J]

For our purposes I think it will be most important to be able to identify the differences between the systems, and how that affects how the system can interact with it's surroundings. For example, being able to identify that a bomb calorimeter is an isolated system because it's in an insulated container -- so there can be no exchange of energy or matter with the surroundings.

I agree with the comment above, I believe identifying how differences in systems affect the system's interactions is the most significant part of understanding different types of systems. Another example would be the one we went over in lecture where an exothermic reaction was occurring in an open beaker to produce a net 8 moles of gas. Essentially, we had to identify that our pressure was constant at 1 atm (because we were working with an open beaker) to use PV=nRT and recognize that the change in moles of gas was due to a change in volume.