Which procedure could be used to demonstrate that matter is conserved during a chemical change or reaction?(1 point)
Responses
Find the mass of an acid and a base. Combine them to produce water and a salt. Find the mass of the water and salt.
Find the mass of an acid and a base. Combine them to produce water and a salt. Find the mass of the water and salt.
Find the mass of a log. Burn the log until it turns to ash and smoke. Find the mass of the ash.
Find the mass of a log. Burn the log until it turns to ash and smoke. Find the mass of the ash.
Find the mass of a stick of butter. Heat the butter until it melts. Find the mass of the melted butter.
Find the mass of a stick of butter. Heat the butter until it melts. Find the mass of the melted butter.
Find the mass of a piece of paper. Tear the paper into smaller pieces. Find the mass of the pieces.
To demonstrate that matter is conserved during a chemical change or reaction, you need to show that the mass of the reactants before the reaction is equal to the mass of the products after the reaction. This reflects the Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.
Among the options provided, the one that best illustrates this concept is:
"Find the mass of an acid and a base. Combine them to produce water and a salt. Find the mass of the water and salt."
Here's why this is the best option:
1. This involves a chemical change (an acid-base neutralization reaction), where new substances (water and a salt) are formed.
2. If you conduct this reaction in a closed system (to ensure no mass escapes), you can accurately measure the mass of the reactants (acid and base) before the reaction and the mass of the products (water and salt) after the reaction.
3. By comparing these masses, you can demonstrate that they are the same, showing that matter is conserved during the reaction.
The other options involve physical changes (melting butter, tearing paper) or open system reactions (burning the log), which don't necessarily provide a clear-cut demonstration of the Law of Conservation of Mass in a chemical reaction, especially since the open system allows for mass to escape into the environment (in the form of gases or smoke), making it difficult to account for all the matter post-reaction.