A system is defined as a quantity of matter or a region in space chosen for study. The mass or region outside the system is called the surroundings. The real or imaginary surface that separates the system from its surroundings is called the boundary The boundary of a system can be fixed or movable. Note that the boundary is the contact surface shared by both the system and the surroundings. Mathematically speaking, the boundary has zero thickness, and thus it can neither contain any mass nor occupy any volume in space. Systems may be considered to be closed or open, depending on whether a fixed mass or a fixed volume in space is chosen for study. A closed system (also known as a control mass) consists of a fixed amount of mass, and no mass can cross its boundary. That is, no mass can enter or leave a closed system.