Conservation of Mass

Definition

The principle of conservation of mass states that in any closed system subjected to no external forces, the mass is constant irrespective of its changes in form; in other words, matter cannot be created nor destroyed.

Related terms

Law of Definite Proportions:

This law states that a chemical compound always contains exactly the same proportion of elements by mass.

Chemical Reaction:

A process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another.

Closed System:

A physical system which does not exchange any matter with its surroundings, and isn't subject to any force whose source is external to the system.