An alka-seltzer tablet weighing 3 grams is added to a flask of water (weighing 250 grams).At the end
of the experiment, the flask weighs a total of 249.6 grams.Explain why this experiment does not seem
to follow the Law of Conservation of Mass and how the experiment could be changed to show the Law
of Conservation of Mass
it doesn't seem to follow law of conservation because it supposed to weight the same form the start till the end.
it could be changed by making the alka seltzer be the same amount throughout the expeimrent even when added to the flask of water
I think you've missed the point.Who says it should weigh the same? It doesn't follow the conservation of mass law because you didn't weigh all of it. You weighed all of it at the beginning with the 3 g tablet but when you added it to the water you set up a reaction in which CO2 (a gas) was evolved). If you performed this experiment I assume you SAW the bubbles of gas escaping. So the difference between the second weighing and the first weighing was due to the evolution (and escape) of the CO2 gas. The experiment could be changed so that you trap the CO2 gas and weigh it and it WILL meet that law.
In this experiment, it appears that the Law of Conservation of Mass is not being followed because the total mass of the system (the flask and the tablet) at the end is less than the initial mass. According to the Law of Conservation of Mass, the total mass of a closed system should remain constant before and after any physical or chemical changes occur.
To understand why the mass seems to have decreased, we need to consider how the experiment was conducted. When the alka-seltzer tablet is added to the water, it starts to dissolve, releasing carbon dioxide gas. This gas escapes into the surroundings, causing a loss of mass from the system.
To modify the experiment to better demonstrate the Law of Conservation of Mass, we can make some changes. First, we need to ensure that the system is completely enclosed so that no gas can escape. One way to do this is to use a closed container, such as a sealed flask or a plastic bag with no holes.
Next, we can measure the mass of the system before and after the reaction, making sure to account for any changes in mass accurately. By doing so, we should observe that the total mass of the system remains constant, as the carbon dioxide gas released during the reaction will be trapped inside the closed container.
It's important to note that the Law of Conservation of Mass is still valid in this scenario, but the apparent violation was due to a failure to consider the mass of the released gas. By making the necessary modifications to the experiment, we can properly demonstrate the conservation of mass.