Isolated systems

[Grace_Aspinwall4J]

Ch 8.1 asks whether a bomb calorimeter in which benzene is burned is a open, closed or isolated system. I said it was an open system but the answering manual says it is isolated. Why would it be and isolated system?

[AliceBarrington4c]

in an isolated system, heat and matter does not go outside the container and react with the universe. This applies to the bomb calorimeter which works at constant volume.

[PaulPatel]

Yes the person above has a great answer to the question, and I would like to add a bit more just for memorization's sake.

For a bomb calorimeter, you should always assume that it is an isolated system, because that is how the contraption is created. It does not want to release any heat and expose the particles inside to the heat. Also, the pressure and volume in an isolated system are never changed, which is the case for a bomb calorimeter. It is a device where the volume and pressure cannot be altered. Thus, it is an isolated system.

I hope that this was able to help out!

[704628249]

Because it completely isolates it from it's outside environment so that there is no interaction.