Thermodynamics is the science of energy that deals with how energy is stored and transferred between systems, mostly involving heat and work. The fundamental law is the conservation of energy principle, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. A system is the quantity of matter being studied, with surroundings outside the system boundary, which separates the system from its surroundings. Properties of a system include intensive properties like temperature and pressure that are independent of mass, and extensive properties like mass, volume and energy that vary directly with mass.