How does a seed turn into a tree if matter can neither be created nor destroyed?

Answer 1

When a seed grows into a tree, matter gets transformed, not created or destroyed.

The conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed only changed from one form to another. As mass and energy are related this means mass must be conserved. (unless energy is released like in a nuclear reactor or a star)

However, as plants grow they take nutrients and water from the soil, carbon dioxide from the air and energy from sunlight to build new molecules then into cells that allow it to grow. The tree isn't spontaneously getting mass from nowhere it is getting most of it from carbon dioxide in the air. Photosynthesis (the process plants use to make sugars that allow it to grow) is a very complex but it does not break the conservation of energy which underpins much of how nature works.