A process in the carbon cycle is seen when carbon in coal burns in the presence of oxygen to form carbon dioxide. Which of the following statements best proves that the law of conservation is obeyed during this process? (5 points)
To demonstrate that the law of conservation is obeyed during the process of burning coal to form carbon dioxide, we need to show that the total mass of carbon before and after the process remains the same.
One way to prove this is by performing a balanced chemical equation for the combustion of coal. The balanced equation provides information about the reactants (coal and oxygen) and the products (carbon dioxide) involved, as well as the ratios of their masses.
Let's write the balanced chemical equation for the combustion of carbon in coal:
C + O2 → CO2
According to the equation, one molecule of carbon reacts with one molecule of oxygen to produce one molecule of carbon dioxide.
To calculate the mass of carbon, we need to consider the molar mass of carbon, which is approximately 12 g/mol.
Assuming we have 1 mole of carbon, the mass of carbon before the reaction would be 12 g.
Now, let's calculate the mass of carbon dioxide produced. The molar mass of carbon dioxide is about 44 g/mol (12 g/mol for carbon + 32 g/mol for oxygen). Since one mole of carbon reacts to form one mole of carbon dioxide, the mass of carbon dioxide produced would also be 44 g.
From these calculations, we can see that the total mass of carbon before the reaction (12 g) is equal to the total mass of carbon dioxide produced (44 g). This confirms that the law of conservation is obeyed during the process of burning coal to form carbon dioxide.