Final answer:
Living systems follow the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy by transforming energy and mass in various processes without creating or destroying them, in accordance with universal physical laws.
Step-by-step explanation:
Living systems adhere to the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy by ensuring that during any process, mass and energy are neither created nor destroyed but are simply transformed. This is evident in how organisms consume energy in the form of food, convert some to usable energy through metabolic processes, manifest some as work, and lose some as heat, maintaining the balance dictated by this law.
For example, in photosynthesis, plants convert sunlight (energy) into chemical energy stored in glucose, sticking to the principle that energy is neither created nor destroyed, just converted. Moreover, in the case of mass, when plants absorb carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose and oxygen, the mass of the products in the chemical equation equals the mass of the reactants, illustrating the conservation of mass. Biological organisms are open systems in constant exchange with their environment, yet they too must comply with these universal laws of chemistry and physics.