Explain the law of conservation of mass.
Explain the law of conservation of mass.
Law of conservation of mass:
The Law of conservation of mass states that in a chemical reaction the total mass of the reactant is equal to the total mass of the product, i.e. in a chemical reaction mass is neither destroyed nor created.
Example
If we consider a chemical reaction between magnesium and oxygen. when magnesium ribbon is burnt in oxygen, it gets converted into magnesium oxide.
2Mg(s) + O2 (g) 2 MgO(s)
Magnesium Oxygen Magnesium Oxide
The mass of magnesium on the reactant side is 48u (Atomic mass of Mg=24u) and the mass of oxygen on the reactant side is 32 (Atomic mass of oxygen is 16). Hence the total mass at the reactant side is 80u. The molecular mass of magnesium oxide is 40u, since 2 moles of magnesium oxide are formed, therefore total mass at the reactant side is 80u.
We can see that the total mass of the reactant side is equal to the total mass of the product side.
Law of conservation of mass:
The Law of conservation of mass states that in a chemical reaction the total mass of the reactant is equal to the total mass of the product, i.e. in a chemical reaction mass is neither destroyed nor created.
Example
If we consider a chemical reaction between magnesium and oxygen. when magnesium ribbon is burnt in oxygen, it gets converted into magnesium oxide.
2Mg(s) + O2 (g) 2 MgO(s)
Magnesium Oxygen Magnesium Oxide
The mass of magnesium on the reactant side is 48u (Atomic mass of Mg=24u) and the mass of oxygen on the reactant side is 32 (Atomic mass of oxygen is 16). Hence the total mass at the reactant side is 80u. The molecular mass of magnesium oxide is 40u, since 2 moles of magnesium oxide are formed, therefore total mass at the reactant side is 80u.
We can see that the total mass of the reactant side is equal to the total mass of the product side.
